BV  4211  .C5 

Clausen,  Bernard  Chancel  lo| 

1892- 
"Preach  it  again" 


"PREACH   IT  AGAIN" 


^^ PREACH   IT  AGAIN'' 

THE   SERMON  TEST 


By 
BERNARD  C.  CLAUSEN,  D.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON    PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


\^ 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 


Published  August,  1922 


Printed  ix  U.  S.  A. 


TO 

THE    KINDEST,  WISEST   TEACHERS 
I    EVER    HAD 

MY  CONGREGATION 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

CHAPTER  J.  tit,       ttjOi  PAGE 

I.  Who  Knows  Most  About  Preaching?     3 
II.  Consulting  the  Ultimate  Critics.  .  .     9 

III.  What  the  Critics  Said 16 

IV.  The  Critics  Classified 31 

V.  Titles  and  So  Forth 38 

PART  II 

The  Sermons 

I.  On  Distance  in  Religion 49 

II.  The  We-ness  of  Us 60 

III.  Says  I,  to  Myself 64 

IV.  Take  Your  Choice 71 

V.  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of 

Voice    76 

VI.  How  to  Make  a  Pearl 86 

VII.  Why  I  Am  a  Christian 93 

VIII.  A  Preacher  Unashamed 100 

IX.  Religion  at  Twenty-one ; .  .  106 

X.  How  to  Make  the  Sun  Stand  Still.  .115 
Appendix    121 


PART  I 


THE  TEST 


WHO  KNOWS  MOST  ABOUT 
PREACHING? 

Obviously,  the  professor  of  homiletics.  Dis- 
guised by  a  title  which  is  not  widely  understood, 
hidden  behind  a  word  which  has  failed  to  gain  entry 
into  the  speech  of  the  layman,  the  professor  of 
homiletics  need  only  be  unveiled  as  a  teacher  of 
the  art  of  preaching,  and  at  once  he  is  acclaimed. 
This  age  of  specialists  is  sincerely  convinced  that 
he  who  is  a  specialist,  by  that  very  fact  knows 
more  about  his  specialty  than  those  who  have  com- 
peting interests  in  other  directions.  So  ministers 
and  laymen,  true  to  the  convictions  of  their  age, 
are  united  in  their  answer  to  the  question,  "  Who 
knows  most  about  preaching?  " 

Obviously,  the  professor  of  homiletics.  Years 
of  opportunity  for  careful  study  in  the  restricted 
field  have  naturally  led  him  to  an  eminence  as  a 
critic  of  preaching.  He  has  had  unusual  occasions 
for  observing  various  methods  and  men.  He  has 
a  library  of  volumes  in  which  his  predecessors  and 
contemporaries,  specialists  in  his  own  field,  have 
left  the  vast  accumulation  of  their  wisdom.  He 
has  read  widely  in  the  imposing  areas  of  sermonic 
literature.  He  knows  the  traditions  of  great 
preaching.    He    knows    the    masterpieces    of    the 

3 


PREACH  IT  AGAIN" 


great  preachers.  Perhaps  he  has  the  reassuring 
memories  of  days  when  he  did  great  preaching 
himself.  Out  of  these  elements  he  has  the  right 
to  construct  a  theory  of  preaching  which  has 
extraordinary  authority.  He  can  write  a  book  of 
his  own  on  ''How  to  Preach."  He  can  accept  a 
submitted  sermon  as  good,  or  reject  it  as  poor.  He 
can  suggest  changes  which  he  knows  will  make  it 
better.  He  knows  a  good  sermon  when  he  hears  it 
because  he  knows  good  sermons  as  such.  He  has 
the  technical  apparatus  of  criticism. 

This  commitment  to  the  authority  of  the  spe- 
cialist in  his  own  field  is  somewhat  less  whole- 
hearted in  the  minds  of  preachers  who  have  studied 
homiletics  under  men  who  could  not  preach.  It 
must  be  somewhat  discouraging  to  build  up  ser- 
monic  ideals  at  the  direction  of  professors  whose 
study  of  homiletics  has  failed  to  produce  success- 
ful sermons.  But  to  one  who  has  lived  in  a  land 
of  homiletical  instruction  bounded  on  four  sides 
by  such  master-preachers  as  Harry  Emerson  Fos- 
dick,  G.  Johnston  Ross,  Hugh  Black,  and  William 
Mangam  Lawrence,  specialists  have  an  authority 
unquestioned.  And  so  firm  is  our  generation  in  its 
avowal  of  specialists,  that  it  is  willing  to  say,  with- 
out sense  of  compromise,  when  faced  by  a  teacher 
of  preaching  who  cannot  preach,  "  At  least,  he 
knows  how,  even  if  he  cannot !  "  Obviously,  the 
professor  of  homile-tics  is  the  authority  in  the  realm 
of  preaching. 

Next  in  order  to  the  royal  house  of  professors 
is  the  representative  of  the  nobility  of  the  realm — 


WHO  KNOWS  MOST  ABOUT  PREACHING?  5 

the  preacher  himself.  Indeed,  there  are  traces 
of  the  blue  blood  of  the  specialist  in  his  veins. 
Courses  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  Philosophy  and  His- 
tory, have  not  prevented  him  from  devoting  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  art  of  preaching.  And 
he  has  the  advantage  of  a  constant  check  on  his 
theory  from  the  experience  of  his  unfolding  Sun- 
days. He  has  learned  at  the  feet  of  his  chosen  ex- 
perts. He  has  taken  the  varying  criteria  of  the  dif- 
fering critical  schools,  and  has  made  a  criterion  of 
his  own.  True  it  is  that  he  has  little  chance  to  exer- 
cise his  critical  apparatus  on  the  preaching  of  other 
men,  for  most  preachers  are  forced  to  live  through 
the  long  years  of  ardent  ministry  with  less  than 
twenty  occasions  when  they  hear  another  man 
preach  to  them.  But  he  can  submit  his  own  pro- 
ductions to  the  standards  of  his  own  ideals,  and 
he  can  judge  his  work  as  impartially  as  human  na- 
ture will  allow  one  to  view  the  children  of  one's 
spirit  and  brain.  Best  of  all,  he  can  reenforce  or 
contradict  that  judgment  by  means  of  that  inner 
sense  which  tells  him  whether  a  sermon  has  been  a 
success  or  not.  Did  it  go  well  ?  Did  it  kindle?  Did 
it  leave  the  preacher  feeling  like  an  achiever  for 
the  Lord  Christ  ?  These  questions,  which  can  never 
be  a  part  of  a  mere  professor's  judgment,  are  con- 
stantly entering  into  a  preacher's  criticism  of  his 
own  work,  and  that  to  his  great  advantage. 

Does  any  one  else  know  anything  about  preach- 
ing? Of  course,  there  is  the  congregation.  But 
all  they  ever  know  is  what  they  like,  and  you  are 
not  called   into  the  ministry   for  the  purpose  of 


PREACH  IT  AGAIN 


tickling  ears  with  sweet  sounds.  Occasionally  a 
frank,  helpful  criticism  comes  to  the  preacher  from 
a  hearer,  but  for  the  most  part  the  direct  verbal 
reaction  is  a  gush  of  silly  approval  from  unthink- 
ing souls  who  greet  your  prophetic  tirades  against 
sin  with  a  light-hearted  "  What  a  lovely  sermon!  " 
or  exhibit  the  defensive  armor  of  their  souls  by  a 
coy  "  I  did  enjoy  that  so !  "  after  you  have  poured 
a  machine-gun  shower  of  cold  steel  into  their  par- 
ticular pew.  The  real  criticisms  of  thoughtful 
people  are  not  spoken  to  the  preacher;  they  are 
reserved  for  the  family  circle  gathered  about  the 
festive  board  for  Sunday  dinner.  After  all,  why 
should  one  be  particularly  eager  for  the  careless 
judgment  of  untrained  people  on  a  matter  of  tech- 
nique ?  You  know  a  good  sermon  when  you  preach 
one.  You  may  echo  the  now  famous  bulletin  report 
of  a  prominent  surgeon,  "  The  operation  was  a  com- 
plete success,"  adding,  as  if  mentioning  a  matter 
of  incidental  interest,  "  The  patient  died  at  2:12 
p.  m." 

The  obvious  retort,  however,  to  a  surgeon  in  that 
highly  professional  and  specialistic  mood  of  tech- 
nical aloofness,  is  that  no  operation  can  be  a  com- 
plete success  if  the  patient  dies.  And  the  obvious 
reply  to  a  preacher  who  knows  a  good  sermon  when 
he  preaches  one,  is  that  it  is  not  a  good  sermon, 
whatever  he  thinks  about  it,  unless  his  congregation 
knows  it  is  good  when  he  preaches  it.  If  rhetoric 
can  presume  to  be  the  adaptation  of  subject-matter 
to  the  demands  and  capabilities  of  the  reader  or 
hearer,  surely  preaching  dare  propose  no  meaner 


WHO  KNOWS  MOST  ABOUT  PREACHING?  7 

aim  than  the  adaptation  of  the  message  of  Jesus 
to  the  demands  and  capabilities  of  the  congregations 
addressed.  And  one  of  the  disillusionments  which 
every  young  minister  must  face  is  the  startling 
discovery  that  congregations  are  not  made  up  of 
such  skilled  professional  critics  as  homiletical  pro- 
fessors and  preachers.  He  must  preach  to  people 
who  have  no  critical  standards  except  the  disdained 
likes  and  dislikes  of  their  untrained  minds.  He 
must  be  effective  toward  them.  And  the  people 
are  the  ultimate  critics,  the  court  of  first  and  last 
appeal. 

They  are  not  to  be  allowed  to  diagnose  and  pre- 
scribe. They  are  to  have  no  voice  in  the  antiseptic 
preparation.  They  are  not  to  choose  the  instru- 
ments, nor  to  interfere  with  the. quick  skill  of  the 
trained  hands.  Their  advice  is  not  to  be  taken  when 
it  flatly  contradicts  the  text-books  of  surgeons  and 
the  best  traditions  of  technique.  But  they  are  to 
be  watched  for  every  reaction;  their  condition  is 
to  be  carefully  noted  at  frequent  intervals;  their 
symptoms  are  to  be  recorded  and  studied.  And 
the  results  are  to  be  judged  as  successful  or  unsuc- 
cessful in  the  terms  of  the  condition  of  the  patient. 

The  difficulty  is  that  congregations  under  the 
knife  are  so  hard  to  observe  with  scientific  accu- 
racy. The  immediate  verbal  responses  are  utterly 
useless  as  symptoms.  You  may  plant  people  in 
various  sections  of  your  congregation  to  listen 
as  people  pass  out  of  your  doors,  and  have  your 
spies  report  their  observations.  But  this  is  as  un- 
gentlemanly  as  it  is  ineffective.    You  may  watch  the 


8  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

ebb  and  flow  of  your  audiences  from  Sunday  to 
Sunday  and  keep  a  therrnomeier  record  of  the  num- 
bers in  attendance.  But  the  crowd  which  comes  to 
hear  you  this  week  is  no  credit  to  this  week's  ser- 
mon. Rather  is  it  a  reflection  upon  some  success- 
ful preaching  somewhere  in  the  more  or  less  dis- 
tant past,  which  has  finally  fruited  in  unusual 
attention.  And  a  catchy  title,  or  an  adventitious  turn 
in  weather  or  publicity,  may  deceive  the  eager  at- 
tendance-watcher into  wholly  erroneous  conclu- 
sions.   Yet  the  patient  must  he  watched. 

This  is  the  story  of  an  attempt  to  learn  what  a 
congregation  thought  about  a  year  of  preaching. 
That  it  resulted  in  an  almost  complete  reversal  of 
expectation  is  not  its  least-interesting  feature.  For 
the  attempt  made  plain  that  when  a  church  is  con- 
sulted frankly  and  without  threat  of  embarrassment 
the  judgment  they  render  passes  w^ithout  particular 
favor  over  sermons  w^hich  warmed  the  cockles  of 
the  preacher's  heart,  and  selects  for  honor  sermons 
which  failed  to  please  him  greatly.  Congregations 
dare  to  differ  with  the  preacher!  And  their  judg- 
ment favors  the  homiletically  incorrect  sermon  over 
the  homiletically  correct.  Congregations  dare  to 
disagree  with  professors ! 

What  congregations  think  about  preaching  is 
the  ultimate  standard.  For  the  sermon  may  be  a 
very  pretty  operation.  But  what  happened  to  the 
patient  ? 


II 


CONSULTING  THE  ULTIMATE 
CRITICS 

First,  you  must  make  sure  that  your  critic  will 
be  frank.  And  this  is  not  a  simple  matter  in  a  con- 
gregation. All  year  long  you  have  striven  to  build 
yourself  into  the  lives  of  your  people.  You  wel- 
come every  new  indication  of  friendship.  You 
make  yourself  a  brother  in  the  family  of  church 
affection.  Can  you,  on  a  given  day,  at  the  end  of 
that  year,  assume  a  detached  air  and  ask  coldly, 
"  What  do  you  think  of  the  preaching  up  to  date?  '* 
Can  you  trust  the  accuracy  of  the  response?  Not  if 
you  have  observed  how  difficult  it  is  for  any  kind 
friend  to  become  a  just  critic  under  any  circum- 
stances. 

But  you  do  have  the  right  to  take  your  people 
at  their  word  when  they  say,  on  various  occasions, 
"  Oh,  preach  that  again !  "  You  do  have  the  right 
to  select  a  day  when  you  turn  on-  them  in  friendly 
mood  and  say,  "  Tell  me  which  sermons  you  want 
me  to  repeat,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  preach  five 
of  them  again."  And  you  do  have  the  right  to  take 
their  selections  as  fairly  accurate  critical  judgments 
on  the  preaching  of  the  year.  Of  course,  they  will 
have  had  no  opportunity  to  compare  your  work 
with  that  of  other  preachers;  they  cannot  express 
B  9 


10  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

themselves  as  to  the  distance  between  your  sermons 
at  their  best  and  the  ideals  which  they  have  for 
preaching;  but  their  votes  will  be  helpful  in  telling 
you  quite  plainly  which  of  your  sermons  came  clos- 
est to  their  mark  of  effectiveness,  and  which  failed 
most  miserably,  with  various  gradations  of  effec- 
tiveness between  the  extremes.  This  is  about  all 
a  preacher  has  a  right  to  expect  from  his  first  short 
lesson  in  the  classroom  of  his  new  homiletics  in- 
structors. Especially  when  he  understands  that  his 
critics  wnll  be  careful  in  their  ballots  because  they 
will  realize  that  they  must  endure  the  repetition  of 
the  sermons  chosen.  Their  votes  will  have  more 
than  academic  interest  to  them.  They  will  be  con- 
demning themselves  to  listen  to  the  sermons  which 
win.  The  sense  of  this  fate  will  sober  them.  They 
dare  not  be  careless. 

The  scene  was  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Syra- 
cuse, New  York.  Printed  folders  had  been  pre- 
pared entitled  v'  The  Sermons  of  the  First  Year." 
A  paragraph  of  explanation  outlined  the  plan : 

Ballots  will  be  distributed  at  both  services  on 
Sunday,  and  the  five  sermons  selected  by  the 
congregations  of  that  day  will  be  repreached 
on  five  subsequent  Sunday  nights. 

The  inside  pages  of  the  folder  contained  a  com- 
plete list  of  the  sermons  preached  during  the  year, 
arranged  in  chronological  order,  with  each  title  num- 
bered for  convenience.  After  each  title  a  sentence 
of  quotation  was  given,  plucked  from  the  sermon 


CONSULTING  THE  ULTIMATE  CRITICS     11 

to  stimulate  a  more  accurate  recollection  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter. 

This  is  the  list.  And  here  is  a  private  experi- 
ment for  your  own  satisfaction.  Read  through  the 
sermon  topics  and  tKeir  appended  sentences,  select 
from  the  titles  the  five  in  which  you  are  most  inter- 
ested, then  compare  your  choices  with  the  five  ser- 
mons which  a  normal  congregation  selected  by  their 
frank,  untrammeled  votes. 

THE  SERMONS  OF  THE  FIRST  YEAR 

1.  The  Strategy  of  Foch. 

"  Remember  the  Mariie  and  Ferdinand  Foch." 

2.  The  Miracle  of  Me. 

"  Consider  the  human  machine,  682  miracles  in  one." 

3.  A  Reply  to  the  Ouija. 

"The  Ouija  tells  me  that  this  is  a  heart-broken,  groping, 
pitiful  world." 

4.  What  the  World  Owes  Me. 

"  I  am  tired  of  these  so-called  self-made  men  who  think 
the  world  owes  them  a  regal  living." 

5.  A  Labor  Day  Prescription. 

"What  we  need  this  day  is  more  labor,  and  less  prescrip- 
tion." 

6.  Belgium  and  You. 

"  Belgium  is  not  a  pink  spot  on  a  map;  Belgium  is  an  ideal 
in  a  people's  heart." 

7.  A  Preacher  Unashamed. 

"  Before  a  world  of  eager  claims,  I  shall  never  apologize 
for  my  profession ;  nor  for  that  which  I  profess." 

8.  Victory. 

"  The  war  won  for  us  no  new  rights ;  save  the  right  to  more 
and  truer  world  service." 


12  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

9.  If  I  Were  A  Freshman. 

"  I  should  begin  this  first  year  by  building  here  an  altar 
to  the  God  of  my  life." 

10.  On  Distance  in  Religion. 

"  Three  Negro  songs  can  teach  us  the  secret  of  nearness  to 
God." 

11.  How  TO  Listen  to  A  Sermon. 

"  Come  prepared  to  do  something  about  it  1 " 

12.  The  We-ness  of  Us. 

" '  He's  not  heavy,  sir.    He's  my  brother ! '  " 

13.  How  TO  Make  A  Pearl. 

"  A  pearl  is  the  garment  of  patience  wrapped  around  an 
annoyance." 

14.  Take  Your  Choice. 

" '  I  have  to  live  with  myself,  and  so  I  want  to  be  fit  for 
myself  to  know.'  " 

15.  How  TO  Make  the  Sun  Stand  Still. 

"  Life  can  no  more  be  measured  by  years  than  milk  can 
be  measured  by  yards;  life  has  length  and  breadth  and  depth 
and  height." 

16.  The  Challenge  of  the  Modern  Church. 

'*  The  church  is  the  surest,  quickest  way  into  the  greatest 
battle  of  the  universe." 

17.  Ambassadors  Extraordinary. 

"  The  imperial  affairs  of  the  Kingdom  are  entrusted  to  you 
without  reserve." 

18.  My  Counsel  to  Conquerors. 
"  Forget  it ;  push  on !  " 

19.  The  Story  of  The  Elijah. 

"  The  gaunt  drama  of  the  prophet's  life  is  revealed  and  vivi- 
fied  in  the  glorious  music." 

?0.  Are  We  Disappointing  Jesus?    In  The  Lord's  Prayer. 
"  I  shall  never  risk  the  shattering  of  fellowship  by  insisting 
on    saying   *  debts '    when    my   brother   near   me    says    **tres- 
passes.' " 


CONSULTING  THE  ULTIMATE  CRITICS     13 

21.  Religion  at  21. 

*'  Twenty-one  will  not  be  glad  in  a  faith  that  flaunts  pro- 
hibitions and  negations." 

22.  A  Bible  Promise  Which  You  Do  Not  Believe. 

"*  Are  you  really  confident  that  God  protects  from  all  evil  ? " 
27i.  Some  Heroes  and  Traitors  I  Have  Known. 

"  I  have  had  a  chance  to  see  both  types  in  action ;  here  are 
their  portraits." 

24.  Studies  From  the  Stadium. 

"  Let  us  put  more  true  football  into  life." 

25.  Can  A  Thoughtful  Man  Be  Thankful  Now? 

"  Come  with  me  through  the  streets  of  Syracuse,  while  1 
search  for  the  thankful  hearts." 

26.  Today's  Pilgrims  and  Today's  Bible. 

"There  is  only  one  way  to. join  the  true  Mayflower  Society; 
that  is  to  commit  yourself  to  Mayflower  principles." 

27.  Are  We  Disappointing  Jesus?    In  Our  Baptism. 

"  If  I  keep  to  the  proper  form,  yet  libel  Christ's  spirit  in 
my  insistence  on  that  form,  then  am  I  no  disciple  of  his." 

28.  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  To-ne  of  Voice. 

"  When  I  observe  people  deserting  this  church  to  attend  the 
movies,  I  shall  not  try  to  close  the  movies ;  I  shall  find  out 
what  is  wrong  with  the  church." 

29.  Alpha  Kai  Omega. 

"  Behind  all  appearances,  and  before  all  true  'hopes,  is 
God." 

30.  How  TO  be  a  Real  Devil. 

"  The  directions  are  simple  and  require  no  change  of  cos- 
tume.   Pitchforks  are  unnecessary." 

31.  Two  Ways  to  the  Manger. 

"  Wise  men  and  shepherds,  culture  and  ruggedness,  take 
differing  roads,  but  they  are  together  at  the  manger  of  Jesus." 

32.  A  Background  for  the  Messiah. 

"  Music,  no  less  than  words,  makes  the  Christ  seem  more 
near." 


14  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

33.  The  Hidden  Tragedy  of  Christmas. 

"  Not  that  Jesus  the  king  was  unrecognized  ;  but  that  Jesus 
the  child  was  neglected." 

34.  The  Year  of  Jubilee, 

'*  All  wrongs  forgiven ;  all  slights  forgotten ;  all  selfish  aims 
abandoned ;  God  must  be  served  these  days." 

35.  Kings  and  Priests. 

"  O,  to  be  a  king  of  my  life  like  Albert ;  to  be  a  priest  for 
my  soul  like  Mercier  1  " 

36.  How  It  Feels  to  be  a  Bankrupt. 

"  Your  assets,  if  you  were  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  would 
net  98c  in  these  days  of  high  prices." 

37.  Life's  Honor  System. 

"  No  man  has  a  memory  good  enough  to  give  him  confidence 
as  a  liar." 

38.  Poor  Richard's  Almanac  for  1921. 
"Steer  your  Hfe;  let  not  it  steer  you." 

39.  Why  I  Am  a  Christian, 

"Jesus  is  the  fairest,  bravest,  gentlest,  truest  figure  on  the 
wide  horizons  of  recorded  history." 

40.  What's  Wrong  With  Sin? 

"  God  hates  sin  because  it  deceives  and  hurts  men." 

41.  Why  I  Am  A  Baptist. 

"  I   have    found   a   regiment   with   glorious   traditions,   fine 
principles,  and  sturdy  ideals." 

42.  Says  I,  to  Myself. 

"  Nine-tenths  of  a  man's  life  is  hidden  under  the  surface ; 
what  kind  of  a  man  are  you  when  you  talk  to  yourself?  " 

43.  Why  I  Am  A  Minister. 

"There  is  a  fundamental  gift  which  qualifies  a  man  for  the 
ministry  of  the  v/ord." 

44.  Are  We  Disappointing  Jesus?    In  Our  Communion. 

"  Love  and   I  had  the  wit  to  win ;  we  drew  a  circle  and 
shut  him  in." 


CONSULTING  THE  ULTIMATE  CRITICS     15 

45.  Christ's  Challenge  to  the  College. 

"Do  you  love  the  things  we  fight  for?    And  hate  the  things 
we  fight  against?     Then  join  us." 

46.  The  Glory  of  A  Hundred  Years. 

"  This  church  is  the  accumulation  of  the  brave  words  and 
selfless  deeds  of  the  century." 


Ill 

WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID 

Every  person  entering  the  church  that  day  was 
provided  with  a  copy  of  the  list  and  a  printed  bal- 
lot for  the  indication  of  choice.  There  was  a  blank 
space  for  the  number  of  each  sermon  selected, 
dotted  lines  for  the  name  and  address  of  the  voter, 
and  a  space  for  remarks.  The  plan  had  been  an- 
nounced in  advance  on  several  Sundays,  so  the  con- 
gregations were  prepared  to  express  their  will.  The 
number  of  choices  recorded  was  3,062;  the  total 
attendance  at  the  two  services  that  day  was  3,280. 
And  on  the  next  Sunday  night  the  preacher  began 
his  series  of  five  repreached  sermons.  Meanwhile 
he  had  retired  to  a  quiet  place,  there  to  classify  and 
reclassify  and  study  the  significance  of  the  critical 
judgments  expressed. 

What  first  attracted  attention  was  the  fact  that 
no  sermon  was  without  votes.  Every  title  on  the 
list  had  involved  sufficient  interest  so  that  some 
one  wanted  to  have  it  repeated.  Such  widely  scat- 
tered returns  might  seem  to  indicate  that  the  voting 
was  thoughtless  and  was  striking  out  in  all  direc- 
tions. But  an  analysis  of  the  votes  which  appeared 
in  the  smaller  groups  of  ballots  will  readily  demon- 
strate quite  the  contrary.  Care  and  discrimina- 
tion were  characteristic. 
16 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  17 

The  sermons  which  were  lowest  in  the  ballot- 
ing were  those  preached  for  special  occasions.  "  A 
Labor  Day  Prescription"  received  only  ten  votes; 
"  A  Background  for  the  Messiah  "  and  ''  The  Story 
of  the  Elijah  "  were  brief  introductory  remarks  at 
the  opening  of  choral  oratorio  programs;  "  Today's 
Pilgrims  and  Today's  Bible  "  was  a  sermon  for 
Bible  Day;  and  ''  The  Glory  of  a  Hundred  Years  " 
was  a  church  centennial  address.  These  sermons 
lacked  favor  for  an  obvious  reason:  it  was  gen- 
erally and  properly  realized  that  they  were  depen- 
dent for  their  effectiveness  upon  the  mood  of  a 
special  occasion,  and  the  occasion  could  not  be 
summoned  up  for  the  purposes  of  repetition.  But 
why  did  anybody  vote  for  such  sermons?  An  ex- 
amination of  the  ballots  shows  how  closely  the 
choices  followed  class  interests,  and  gives  us  con- 
fidence for  the  attempt  in  the  next  chapter  to  ana- 
lyze all  the  ballots  in  class  groupings.  The  votes 
for  ''  A  Labor  Day  Prescription  "  came  almost  en- 
tirely from  employers  of  labor,  and  a  glance  at 
the  sentence  of  quotation  will  explain  the  fact.  The 
comments  based  on  oratorios  were  chosen  by  mem- 
bers of  the  choir,  who  had  caught  with  unusual 
vividness  the  thought  of  the  gospel  when  phrased 
in  the  musical  vocabulary  with  which  they  were 
familiar.  The  sermon  on  the  ''  Pilgrims  "  had  made 
a  special  appeal  to  people  who  were  of  New  England 
families  and  traditions,  and  the  votes  showed  a 
definite  New  England  drift.  While  the  centennial 
sermon  proved  to  be  the  choice  of  the  old  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  in  whose  minds  the  old  names 


18  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

and  the  old  years  stirred  up  vivid  recollections. 
Here  was  a  whole  group  of  occasional  sermons 
which  should  have  been  utterly  ineligible  for  repe- 
tition. Yet  the  interests  of  certain  special  groups 
were  sufficient  to  overbalance  the  natural  handicaps. 
In  other  words,  this  group  of  least-favored  sermons 
indicates  that  without  embarrassment  or  careless- 
ness, people  were  voting  along  the  lines  of  their 
real  preferences,  which  inevitably  formed  into 
groups  of  tastes  and  interests  along  class  lines. 
The  more  subtle  differences  in  group  tastes  for 
sermons  will  be  explored  later. 

When  the  discourses  for  special  occasions  have 
been  eliminated  from  consideration,  it  becomes  ap- 
parent that  the  least-favored  sermons  are  the  war 
sermons.  "  Belgium  and  You,"  "  Victory,"  "  Am- 
bassadors Extraordinary,"  "  Some  Heroes  and 
Traitors  I  Have  Known,"  and  "  Kings  and  Priests  " 
were  all  carefully  prepared  and  well-knit  efforts, 
with  the  advantage  of  that  vividness  of  vocabulary 
and  story  which  could  come  from  a  recent  and  stir- 
ring adventure  of  two  years  which  the  preacher 
spent  with  the  American  forces.  Indeed  two  of 
the  war  sermons  were  included  in  the  preacher's 
list  of  his  own  favorites  when  he  made  out  his  bal- 
lot. These  sermons  appeared  at  intervals  through- 
out the  year.  Yet  wherever  the  titles  appeared  on 
the  complete  list  they  were  passed  by  and  cut  by 
the  voters.  Their  record  in  the  balloting  looks  pa- 
thetically like  the  fate  of  the  Democrats  in  a 
rock-ribbed  Republican  township,  or  vice  versa. 
Some   mental    enmity   overwhelmed   them.      They 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  19 

were  singled  out  for  the  unconscious  scorn  of 
neglect.  When  they  did  receive  support  it  came 
from  the  young  business  and  college  men  who  knew 
the  vocabulary  of  war  and  could  respond  to  it  with 
readiness.  Whether  because  an  over-supply  of  war 
appeals  without  a  background  of  war  experience 
wore  our  people  into  inattention,  or  because  they 
never  have  sensed  the  meaning  of  war  words  viv- 
idly, the  balloting  shows  that  you  cannot  expect  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  the  terms  of  the  Great  War 
and  succeed  with  your  message.  Young  men  are 
still  eager  for  an  appeal  based  on  war-times,  but 
your  congregation,  as  a  whole,  will  pray  to  be 
delivered.  The  only  sermon  which  had  a  touch  of 
armies  in  it  and  which  was  not  snowed  under  in 
the  voting  was  ''  The  Strategy  of  Foch,"  and  that 
must  attribute  its  comparative  popularity  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  study  of  the  soul  of  the  generalissimo 
and  his  inspiration  for  the  battle  of  life.  War,  as 
such,  is  taboo. 

But  the  most  astounding  feature  of  all  was  the 
way  the  votes  neglected  the  preacher's  favorites  and 
the  homiletically  correct  productions  and  indepen- 
dently selected  sermons  on  other  standards  of  excel- 
lence. These  were  the  five  elected  sermons,  with 
the  number  of  their  supporters  : 

1.  "On  Distance  in  Religion,"  (No.  10),  231  votes. 

2.  '"The  We-ness  of  Us,"  (No.  12),  191  votes. 

3.  "  Says  I,  to  Myself,"  (No.  42),  160  votes. 

4.  "Take  Your  Choice,"  (No.  14),  129  votes. 

5.  "The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice,"  (No.  28), 
116  votes. 


20  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

These  followed  in  close  succession : 

6.  "How  to- Make  a  Pearl,"  (No.  13),  108  votes. 

7.  "Why  I  am  a  Christian,"  (No.  39),  92  votes. 

8.  "A  Preacher  Unashamed,"   (No.  7),  91  votes. 

9.  "  Religion  at  21,"  (No.  21),  89  votes. 

10.  "  How  to  Make  the  Sim  Stand  Still,"  (No.  15),  79  votes. 

Observe  the  characteristics  of  the  first  five  candi- 
dates on  the  list.  They  vary  widely,  but  they  are 
at  one  in  a  contradiction  of  the  accepted  canons  of 
sermon-building.  ''  On  Distance  in  Religion  "  was 
not  only  overwhelmingly  first  in  the  general  voting, 
but  when  the  votes  were  classified  it  developed 
that  no  group  had  placed  this  sermon  lower  than 
third,  and  the  four  largest  groups  had  given  it  first 
place  without  question.  It  is  a  simple  talk  on  inti- 
macy in  religious  faith,  with  its  text  in  the  words 
of  three  Negro  slave  songs,  which  were  sung  by 
the  preacher  as  he  began  his  discussion.  It  utilizes 
the  accompanying  Scripture  lesson  only  as  an  inci- 
dental and  enlightening  example.  *'  The  We-ness 
of  Us  "  is  a  ten-minute  Communion  Sunday  medi- 
tation on  the  oneness  of  spirit  and  the  brotherliness 
of  love  which  should  characterize  the  Christian 
church.  "  Says  I,  to  Myself "  is  an  application 
of  the  results  of  the  new  psychoanalysis  to  the 
experience  of  Paul  and  to  the  experiences  of  mod- 
ern men,  and  it  begins  with  an  outline  of  the  action 
of  two  recent  plays.  "  Take  Your  Choice  "  is  a 
church  school  talk  prepared  for  a  Rally  Day  pro- 
gram which  took  the  place  of  the  regular  morning 
service.      The   title   was   included   in   the   list    for 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  21 

chronological  completeness  rather  than  as  an  op- 
portunity for  selection,  and  one  of  the  great  sur- 
prises in  the  final  results  was  the  persistency  with 
which  intelligent  people  insisted  on  this  childish 
talk  as  one  worthy  of  repetition.  It  was  only  eleven 
minutes  long,  and  it  did  not  nearly  fulfil  the  sched- 
ule requirements  of  the  evening  service  when  it 
was  repeated.  But  its  popularity  is  a  real  rebuke. 
The  fifth  selection,  "  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the 
Tone  of  Voice  "  is  a  defense  of  the  free  spirit  in 
religious  observances,  opening  with  a  simple  story 
of  a  letter  which  gained  vividness  and  memorability 
by  the  presence  of  an  actual  letter  which  was  torn 
open  and  read  by  the  preacher,  after  the  manner 
of  the  drama. 

These  sermons  were  not  selected  because  they  con- 
tained better  thought-material.  This  broad  state- 
ment may  be  made  quite  confidently.  They  were 
surrounded  in  the  list  of  titles  by  sermons  which 
represented  philosophy  quite  as  sound,  logic  quite 
as  careful,  reading  quite  as  wide,  and  thought-prep- 
aration quite  as  disciplinary.  They  were  chosen 
because  they  were  conspicuous  for  individual  traits 
of  style.  And  the  first  somber  reflection  which  this 
experiment  provides  is  this,  that  a  modern  congre- 
gation places  a  high  premium  upon  the  style  of 
presentation. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  no  one  of  these  five  ser- 
mons starts  with  a  text  and  proceeds  to  an  exposi- 
tion nor  does  one  of  them  start  with  a  topic 
and  proceed  to  an  exploration,  after  the  manner 
of  the  old  prescriptions  in  homiletics.     Yet  they 


22  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 


were  surrounded  on  the  list  by  sermons  which  tried 
whole-heartedly  to  be  expositional  or  topical  accord- 
ing to  the  old  categories.     For  the  year's  preaching 
was  not  an  attempt  to  select  a  certain  type  of  pulpit 
work  and  use  it  consistently;  it  was  rather  an  at- 
tempt to  experiment  open-mindedly  with  various 
kinds   of   preaching,    and   draw   what   conclusions 
seemed   fair   from  the   facts.     The   facts  are  the 
votes,  and  the  votes  seem  to  prove  that  whatever 
homiletical  categories  and  preachers'  traditions  say, 
a  congregation  deliberately  prefers  sermons  which 
are  not  strictly  expositional  and  not  strictly  topical. 
Yet  it  would  be  unsafe  to  assume  from  this  that 
there  is  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  Bible  as  the  heart 
of  the  preacher's  message,  or  in  great  traditional 
doctrinal    themes    for    fundamental  thinking.     It 
would  be  much  nearer  the  truth  to  conclude  that 
people  have  no  aversion  to  topical  and  expositional 
sermons  as  such ;  they  are  surfeited  to  numbness  by 
an  unmitigated  and  unrelieved  succession  of  ser- 
mons in  the  classic  molds  of  traditional  homiletics. 
They   simply  cannot   approach  with  attentive   in- 
terest, nor  retain  with  pleasant  vividness,  a  sermon 
which  is  homiletically  correct.     Most  of  their  ser- 
monic   lives   are   spent   in   listening  to    just   such 
sermons  Sunday  after  Sunday.     What  they  must 
have  for  renewed  enthusiasm  is  a  dash  of  the  new. 
That  this  demand  leads  to  foolish  sermon-tasting 
and  unworthy  sensation-mongering  cannot  be  de- 
nied.    But  this  is  to  the  discredit  of  those  modest 
workmen  of  the  Lord  who,  lifting  skirts  in  horror 
at  the  mention  of  sensationalism,  rush  across  the 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  23 

broad  avenue  of  courageous  originality  into  the  cool 
and  quiet  shade  of  dulness  and  mediocre  tradition- 
alism. For  most  Christians,  and  for  most  people 
who  seek  to  know  more  about  Christ,  there  is  only 
the  alternative  between  the  acrobatic  idiosyncrasies 
of  Billy  Sunday  and  his  hundred  imitators  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  supercilious  correctness  of  "  Text, 
Introduction,  Discussion  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  Conclu- 
sion," or  the  steady  monotony  of  "  Topic,  Plati- 
tudes, Concluding  Stanza  of  Old  Hymn  repeated 
in  Vox  Humana  "  on  the  other  hand.  People  actu- 
ally do  not  hear  that  to  which  they  do  not  pay  atten- 
tion. And  attention  must  be  taken  prisoner  by  the 
violence  of  novelty.  When  a  congregation  senses 
a  thing  which  has  never  been  done  before  they  are 
in  the  mood  to  vote  that  that  same  thing  be  done 
again.     If  this  be  a  paradox  make  the  most  of  it. 

The  audience  does  not  stop  to  question  the  gen- 
eral validity  of  homiletic  rules.  It  simply  indicates 
that  too  much  is  enough,  even  of  the  good  and  the 
correct.  And  it  substitutes  certain  requirements  of 
its  own,  which  it  urges  as  valid,  and  upon  which  it 
insists,  if  it  is  to  respond.  These  are  the  specifica- 
tions of  advice  which  a  congregation  frankly  sug- 
gests by  3,000  careful  votes : 

I.  A  sermnn^nmst^hediif event!  Perhaps  this 
point  has  already  been  stressed~overmuch.  But  it  is 
emphatic  in  the  favorable  votes  which  swarmed  to 
"  Distance  in  Religion."  If  a  reading  of  the  sermon 
fails  to  reveal  why  it  should  have  any  special  ap- 
peal, you  have  penetrated  far  into  the  secret  of  its 
success.     It  is  remembered,  and  quoted,   and   re- 


24  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

quested,  and  pondered,  and  lived,  not  because  it  is 
an  epoch-making  sermon,  but  because  its  songs  were 
sung.  The  voice  of  the  preacher  was  not  an  artistic 
voice ;  the  songs  themselves  were  plaintive  common- 
places of  plantation  life :  but  against  a  long  back- 
ground of  spoken  sermons,  here  looms  a  sermon  in 
which  a  voice  is  lifted  in  song,  simply,  without  apol- 
ogy or  announcement.  The  air  becomes  electric 
with  anticipation ;  minds  are  stimulated  into  intense 
application;  memories  explode  into  long  trains  of 
tenacious  association,  and  the  sermon  becomes  the 
climax  of  a  year  of  preaching. 

There  are  absurd  extremes  into  which  an  unwise 
seeker  after  novelty  may  be  lured,  and  the  risk  of 
transmitting  such  advice  about  preaching  is  im- 
mense. But  the  dictum  comes  direct  from  the  ulti- 
mate critics  of  the  art.  To  refuse  to  consider  it 
would  be  unfair  to  them.  When  a  congregation  has 
a  right  to  speak,  it  says,  so  vehemently  as  to  be 
almost  violently,  "  A  sermon  must  be  different! " 

2.  A  sermon  must  be  brief!  The  kindly  inten- 
tioned  comments"  of  friendly  hearers  may  woo  you 
into  believing  that  they  could  have  listened  to  you 
for  hours  without  tiring,  and  that  they  never  hear 
you  preach  half  long  enough.  But  when  they  tell 
the  secrets  of  their  own  hearts,  behind  the  curtain 
of  an  Impersonal  vote,  their  verdict  is  vociferous 
In  favor  of  brevity.  A  recent  letter  to  "  The  Out- 
look," unsigned  when  published,  states  that  the 
writer  has  never,  in  all  his  years  of  experience, 
heard  a  sermon  that  was  too  short.  There  is  an 
underlying  rumble  of  implication  that  he  has  lis- 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  25 

tened  to  many  which  were  too  long.  And  the  ele- 
vation of  the  two  briefest  sermons  of  the  year  into 
the  ranks  of  the  first  five  surely  has  its  significance 
as  a  criticism  of  preaching.  Preachers  must  come 
to  a  realization  of  the  disappointing  fact  that  the 
saturation-point  of  an  average  congregation  is 
reached  very  soon  after  the  sermon  begins. 

It  is  not  that  a  group  of  hearers  deliberately  re- 
solves to  insult  a  preacher  by  refusing  to  listen  to 
him  after  a  certain  number  of  minutes.  It  is  not 
because  their  minds  are  thronged  with  multitudinous 
cares  which  jostle  and  crowd  into  the  sacred  place 
of  the  sermon.  It  is  merely  that  a  mass  of  minds 
representing  various  interests  and  backgrounds 
reaches  a  point  of  utter  saturation  at  a  given  time 
in  any  given  event,  and  after  that  point  has  been 
reached  the  saturated  individuals  are  wearied  into 
dull  perceptions  and  drowsy  inattentiveness.  The 
exact  point  of  saturation  cannot  be  accurately  pre- 
determined. One  cannot  say  that  twenty  minutes  is 
the  limit  of  a  successful  sermon.  The  limit  is 
affected  by  varying  factors  such  as  theme,  congre- 
gation, mental  alertness  of  preacher,  atmosphere 
spiritual,  and  atmosphere  physical.  But  three  thou- 
sand votes,  which  select  for  places  of  honor  two 
ten-minute  sermons,  indicate  to  the  wise  preacher 
that  sermons  are  in  general  too  long.  Here  is  a  con- 
gregation which  lifts  into  eminence  "  The  We-ness 
of  Us."  It  is  trying  desperately  to  say  that  a  theme 
briefly  treated  has  an  immense  advantage  in  imme- 
diate impression  and  in  vivid  recollection.  A 
sermon  must  be  brief! 
c 


26  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

3.  A  sermon  must  use  the  news!  "  Says  I,  to 
Myself  "  begins  with  two  anecdotes,  gleaned  not 
from  ''  Cut  Gems  "  and  similar  collections  of  apt 
illustrations,  but  from  recent  dramatic  productions 
which  received  wide  notice.  There  is  a  subtle  but 
appreciated  difference  between  a  congregation  hear- 
ing a  sermon-anecdote  which  it  has  heard  in  sermons 
before  and  that  same  congregation  hearing  sermonic 
reference  to  a  story  or  play  which  it  recognizes 
from  the  news  items  of  the  day.  This  same  distinc- 
tion is  acted  upon  in  the  scientific  material  upon 
which  the  sermon  is  built.  The  mystery  of  the 
subconscious  mind  has  taken  its  place  as  one  of 
the  few  central  and  almost  universal  subjects  for 
discussion  and  thought  in  modern  life.  Here  is 
a  frank  attempt  to  clothe  the  old  fundamentals  of 
human  experience  with  sin  in  the  phrases  of  a  new 
and  appealing  science.  It  touched  off  a  whole  dis- 
play of  memory  fireworks,  lit  by  the  single  fuse  of 
a  discussed  subject,  and  it  overcame  the  disadvan- 
tage of  having  been  preached  only  a  few  days  before 
the  voting  by  the  immediate  vividness  of  its  appeal. 
A  sermon  must  use  the  news! 

4.  A  sermon  must  he  simple!  Nothing  but  the 
validity  of  this  principle  can  account  for  the  favor 
granted  to  the  talk  called  "  Take  Your  Choice." 
This  was  nothing  more  pretentious  than  an  attempt 
to  ''  talk  down  "  to  children  at  a  Bible  School  Rally 
Day.  Surrounded  by  the  regular  exercises  of 
a  rather  long  program,  which  included  recitations 
and  departmental  songs,  and  which  spread  out  until 
perilously  near  noon,   "  Take  Your  Choice,"   de- 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  27 

prived  of  the  ordinary  preparation  of  a  worshipful 
service,  was  forced  to  batter  its  way  to  a  hearing 
through  the  din  of  tired  children  and  the  confusion 
of  a  hurried  combination  of  events.  There  was  no 
surprise  in  the  whole  process  of  consulting  the  critics 
quite  so  great  as  the  extraordinary  willingness  of  a 
congregation  to  hear  this  effusion  again.  It  suc- 
ceeded, despite  its  surroundings,  because  it  was  de- 
liberately geared,  in  simplicity,  to  the  mechanism  of 
the  child  mind.  And  its  election  tells  thoughtful 
preachers  that  they  are  wrong  in  expecting  the 
involved  complexities  of  a  month's  careful  and  quiet 
theological  meditation  to  be  transferred  to  a  host 
of  more  or  less  ready  minds  in  the  course  of  a  few 
minutes  of  verbal  expression.  Most  sermons  are  too 
involved  in  their  thought.  Most  sermons  strive  to 
do  too  much  in  one  discourse.  A  sermon  must  be 
simple ! 

There  are  men  who  preach  regularly  two  sermons 
on  Sunday  morning,  one  called  a  children's  sermon, 
the  other  known  as  the  regular  sermon.  With 
rather  naive  wonder  they  observe  that  their  congre- 
gations are  tense  in  attention  during  the  children's 
sermon.  The  preachers  proudly  refer  to  such  com- 
ments as  this  from  an  elderly  deacon,  "  I  enjoyed  the 
children's  sermon  more  than  any  child  in  the 
crowd !  "  These  signs  are  taken  to  mean  that  the 
inclusion  of  the  children's  sermon  is  a  great  suc- 
cess. The  implied  criticism  on  the  regular  sermon  is 
rarely  taken  to  heart.  When  an  elderly  deacon 
gets  more  good  out  of  a  children's  sermon  than  a 
child  does,  he  means  that  he  gets  more  good  out  of 


28  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

that  sermon  than  he  does  out  of  the  regular  sermon. 
It  is  evident  that  the  sermon  which  is  aimed  at  the 
child  hits  the  target  of  the  adult  mind  in  spite  of 
our  intentions,  and  the  latter  effort,  called  the  regu- 
lar sermon  and  aimed  at  the  adult,  finds  no  mark 
at  all.  When,  of  two  sermons,  the  former  is  re- 
membered and  lived,  it  is  evident  that  by  that  token 
the  former  is  the  more  successful.  And  when  three 
thousand  ballots  select  for  honor  a  children's  ser- 
mon containing  little  or  no  "  adult  strong-meat," 
while  the  children's  votes  pass  it  over  with  little  fa- 
vor, the  result  indicates  that  we  have  been  wTongly 
composing  our  menus.    A  sermon  must  be  simple! 

5.  A  sermon  must  he  dramatic.  There  is  no  rea- 
son for  the  survival  of  the  preacher  in  a  world  of 
phonographs,  wireless  transmission,  and  skilfully 
written  editorial  pronouncements,  except  the  drama 
which  the  sermon  makes  possible.  Every  item  in  a 
church  service  can  be  reproduced  at  immensely  re- 
duced cost  and  greatly  increased  efficiency  by  the 
appliances  of  modern  science,  except  the  drama  of 
the  sermon.  Why  not  take  the  few  really  great 
preachers  of  the  world  and  have  them  preach  to  all 
of  us  on  the  printed  page  of  widely  circulated  peri- 
odicals, or  in  that  marvelous  extension  of  personality 
possible  through  sound-reproducing  devices?  Such 
preaching  would  lack  only  one  thing,  the  drama  of 
the  sermon.  Preaching  will  survive  or  perish  largely 
on  its  ability  or  inability  to  learn  this  fifth  homilet- 
ical  principle  which  its  frankest  critics  prescribe — a 
sermon  must  be  dramatic. 

The  personality  of  the  preacher  must  project 


WHAT  THE  CRITICS  SAID  29 

itself  until  the  issue  which  the  sermon  presents  lives 
in  the  minds  of  the  hearers.  The  scenes  must  be 
visualized  and  experienced  dramatically  by  the 
preacher  before  they  can  be  fully  significant  to  the 
audience.  The  dramatis  personce  must  be  assumed 
by  the  preacher  in  turn,  as  they  successively  appear, 
impersonated  by  him  in  the  realization  of  their  mean- 
ing and  message.  And  if  the  contending  forces  be 
as  illusive  as  the  "  innumerable  hosts  of  light  bat- 
tling against  the  hosts  of  darkness  "  yet  the  issue 
must  somehow  be  enacted  through  the  dramatic  de- 
velopment of  the  theme. 

This  is  the  lesson  of  the  fifth  sermou,  "  The  Holy 
Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice."  It  started  on  its 
course  determined  to  dramatize  the  old,  old  dis- 
cussion of  Sabbath  observance  into  a  new  and  mov- 
ing presentation.  Its  opening  paragraph  is  a  story. 
The  story  is  not  told.  A  phonograph  can  tell  a 
story.  This  story  is  acted,  lived,  dramatized.  There 
is  a  letter  in  the  story.  So  the  preacher  prepared  in 
advance,  as  stage  properties  are  prepared,  an  en- 
velope containing  a  letter.  And  when  the  time  came 
for  the  story,  he  opened  the  letter  as  if  he  were  re- 
ceiving it  from  a  son  away  at  college.  The  symbol- 
ism of  the  anecdote  was  preserved  through  the 
whole  course  of  the  dramatic  plot  which  was  called 
the  sermon,  and  an  eager  congregation  remembered 
it  and  asked  that  it  be  preached  again.  A  sermon 
must  be  dramatic.  It  must  utilize  dramatic  values. 
It  must  develop  dramatically.  It  must  act  out  its 
scenes.  It  must  have  its  stage  properties.  It  must 
use  vocal  capabilities.     No  preacher  would  dare  so 


30  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

to  counsel  his  fellows.  The  extremes  toward  which 
this  advice  points  are  too  terrifyingly  absurd.  But 
this  is  the  frank  advice  of  a  thoughtful,  normal 
congregation,  which  is  giving  its  advice  unawares. 
And  what  they  say  deserves  a  hearing. 

The  whole  process  of  consulting  these  critics  was 
almost  uncanny  in  its  revelations.  They  were  say- 
ing things  in  their  ballots  which  they  would  not 
dare  say  verbally.  Indeed  the  lines  on  the  ballots 
left  for  remarks  were  very  rarely  used.  People  do 
not  care  to  put  into  words  their  frank  reactions  to 
sermons.  But  they  do  put  those  reactions  into  votes 
as  frankly  and  informally  and  informingly  as  if  you 
were  permitted  to  peer  within  and  observe  what  was 
happening  in  their  minds.  And  they  do  put  those 
reactions  into  deeds,  and  their  busy,  judging  brains 
direct  them  to  drift  away  when  you  do  not  interest 
them.  This  was  an  attempt  to  discover  their  reac- 
tions before  they  had  a  chance  to  drift  away.  What 
they  conclude  is  the  ultimate  criticism  of  preaching. 


IV 
THE  CRITICS  CLASSIFIED 

This  was  a  normal  slice  of  life.  These  hun- 
dreds of  sermon-connoisseurs  were  not  segregated 
examples  of  a  single  peculiar  type.  They  are 
proud  of  their  claim  to  distinction  as  ordinary  peo- 
ple. And  en  masse  they  give  a  correct  indication  of 
general  conclusions. 

The  church  stands  in  the  heart  of  a  city  of  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand.  There  are  2,261  members 
on  the  church  list ;  a  virile  church  school  organiza- 
tion is  successfully  working  on  religious  education 
problems;  a  university  two  miles  away  sends  in 
streams  of  college  life,  student  and  faculty;  laboring 
men  and  cultured  savants,  business  girls  and  col- 
lege aristocrats  mingle  in  the  pews. 

Moreover,  the  church  had  just  been  through  a 
period  of  two  years  without  a  stated  pastor.  Dis- 
tinguished and  successful  preachers  had  been  sought 
in  every  direction  for  the  pulpit  work  of  the  interval. 
So  a  wide  variety  of  preaching  from  many  types  of 
preachers  formed  the  background  of  the  test.  The 
congregation  was  not  reacting  from  a  previous 
experience  of  consistent  preaching  in  a  single  vein. 
It  had  been  extraordinarily  exposed.  It  had  passed 
through  a  broad  course  in  modern  preaching  exam- 
ples such  as  is  seldom  afforded  as  a  preparation  for 

31 


32  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

the  exalted  and  responsible  position  as  critic  ex- 
traordinary in  the  art  of  preaching. 

Yet  the  normality  of  the  whole  heterogeneous 
congregation  is  only  one  advantage.  There  was  the 
added  fact  that  this  great  block  of  three  thousand 
frank  judgments  could  be  broken  up  and  classified. 
For  these  votes  possessed  the  ability  to  tell  not  only 
what  three  thousand  plain  people  prefer  in  their  ser- 
mons, but  also  what  sermons  make  particular  appeals 
to  498  business  men,  202  professional  men,  907 
home  women,  436  business  women,  136  children, 
and  883  college  and  business-school  students,  380 
of  whom  were  young  men. 

The  examination  of  these  classified  verdicts  gives 
us  two  general  conclusions :  First,  When  a  sermon 
is  prepared  with  a  specific  group  in  mind  it  succeeds 
in  attracting  the  favorable  attention  of  that  group, 
whether  the  group  is  named  and  placed  in  the  lime- 
light of  attention  or  not.  It  is  the  custom  of  this 
church  to  make  the  first  Sunday  night  of  each  month 
"  Students'  Night,"  with  an  advertising  campaign 
of  posters  and  blotter-calendars,  announcing  the  spe- 
cial theme,  and  extending  a  special  invitation  to  the 
students.  It  was  no  surprise  to  find  that  the  sermons 
on  these  special  nights  were  the  favorite  selections 
in  the  list  of  students'  votes.  "Religion  at  21," 
for  instance,  owes  its  place  in  the  roll  of  honor  en- 
tirely to  student  ballots,  with  a  slight  show  of  favor 
on  the  part  of  business  women  who  were  not  much 
beyond  twenty-one.  This  sermon  was  preached  to 
students  on  Students'  Night,  and  it  did  attract  stu- 
dent attention.    "  If  I  Were  a  Freshman,"  "  Studies 


THE  CRITICS  CLASSIFIED  3  ; 

from  the  Stadium,"  ''  Life's  Honor  System,"  and 
"  Christ's  Challenge  to  the  College,"  all  had  the  bene- 
fit of  a  similar  specific  appeal.  '*  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac  "  and  ''  How  it  Feels  to  be  a  Bankrupt  " 
were  both  frankly  announced  as  business  men's  ser- 
mons, and  both  succeeded  in  challenging  the  favor- 
able attention  of  the  business  men  to  whom  they 
were  specifically  addressed.  There  was  no  surprise 
in  this. 

But  it  was  somewhat  enlightening  to  find  that  stu- 
dents were  unerring  in  their  ability  to  locate  and 
favor  student  sermons  which  were  not  so  announced. 
And  other  groups  were  equally  canny.  Apparently 
when  a  preacher  plans  to  adapt  his  message  to  the 
attention  of  a  group,  he  succeeds  in  gaining  that 
attention,  even  if  the  group  has  not  been  informed 
in  advance  of  his  intention.  '*  The  Miracle  of  Me," 
for  instance,  was  an  attempt  to  explore  scientifically 
the  wonders  of  the  human  body,  in  preparation  for 
an  insistence  on  the  text,  "  Ye  are  the  body  of 
Christ."  Medical  men  caught  its  significance  viv- 
idly. *'What  the  World  Owes  Me"  exalted  the 
selflessness  of  true  professional  ethics  as  compared 
with  the  sordidness  of  ordinary  business  methods. 
If  professional  men  alone  had  favored  this,  we 
might  be  justified  in  the  cynical  conclusion  that 
people  enjoy  the  sermon  which  pats  them  caressingly 
on  their  backs.  But  business  men,  whose  standards 
were  being  subjected  to  criticism,  ranked  this  high 
on  their  lists  as  well,  indicating  that  specific  appli- 
cation, in  a  familiar  and  specific  vocabulary,  tends  to 
make  the  most  effective  impression,  even  if  the  ser- 


34  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

mon  does  hurt.  "  How  to  Make  the  Sun  Stand 
Still  "  appears  among  the  first  ten  on  the  lists  of 
business  men  and  professional  men,  and  business 
vvomen.  They  were  not  so  informed  by  the  preacher, 
but  that  sermon  had  been  prepared  with  their  pecu- 
liar problems  specifically  in  mind.  And  *'  The 
Strategy  of  Foch,"  which  was  one  of  the  preacher's 
own  favorites,  was  honored  by  the  attention  of  one 
group  alone,  the  young  men  of  the  college,  who  gave 
it  second  place  in  their  list,  though  it  appears  in  no 
other  list  among  the  first  ten.  By  the  clairvoyance 
of  their  judgment  the  University  men  had  discov- 
ered what  the  preacher  had  not  told  them,  that  this 
sermon  was  first  delivered  to  the  student-body  of 
a  men's  college,  and  that  it  was  prepared  especially 
for  that  group.  And  the  preacher  was  happy  to 
know  that  his  taste  in  sermons,  as  well  as  his  inclina- 
tion, made  him  kin  to  the  aspiring,  open  mind  of  the 
modern  college  man.  The  moral  of  these  facts  is  a 
simple  one :  If  you  aim  your  sermon  at  a  group  you 
will  hit  that  group,  though  they  be  scattered  through- 
out your  auditorium,  and  though  you  strive  to  con- 
ceal the  anxious  direction  of  your  weapon. 

But  this  conclusion  follows,  as  a  startling  obverse. 
You  will  miss  your  congregation  as  a  whole.  No 
one  of  the  class-aimed  and  class-favored  sermons 
appears  among  the  first  five  in  the  general  verdict. 
Only  two  appear  among  the  first  ten.  These  two  are 
ranked  ninth  and  tenth.  And  they  are  carried 
through  to  prominence  not  because  they  made  a 
general  appeal  as  well  as  their  specific  one,  but  be- 
cause the  voting  strength  of  their  particular  con- 


THE  CRITICS  CLASSIFIED  35 


stitiiencies  was  strong  enough  to  lift  them.  When 
you  preach  in  the  phrases  of  medicine  you  may  suc- 
ceed with  your  medical  men,  but  the  rest  of  your  con- 
gregation will  be  comparatively  unmoved.  When 
you  preach  a  student  sermon  you  may  gain  the  atten- 
tion of  students,  but  you  run  the  risk  of  wearying 
your  business  men.  The  warning  is  obvious.  Suc- 
cessful preaching  must  avoid  specific  group  appeals 
except  in  extraordinary  circumstances.  If  you  can 
separate  your  groups  on  occasions,  for  specific 
preaching,  you  may  address  them  in  their  own  jar- 
gons. But  the  task  of  the  preacher  must  be  to  avoid 
the  lures  of  narrow  interests,  and  to  give  himself 
each  week  to  the  supplying  of  the  hunger  of  all. 
He  will  never  altogether  succeed.  If,  on  occasion, 
he  touches  many  people  by  his  message,  he  will  still 
be  sure  that  he  could  have  touched  some  more  deeply 
had  he  been  content  to  leave  others  untouched.  And 
he  will  be  led  afresh  to  the  conviction  that  the  most 
effective  presentation  of  the  gospel  occurs  when  one 
man  gives  all  his  energy  and  preparation  to  the  task 
of  speaking  of  Christ  in  winning  terms  to  one  other 
man.  For  the  narrower  the  focus  the  hotter  the  rays 
of  the  sun's  light. 

But  there  is  a  more  and  a  less  to  successful  preach- 
ing. And  the  more  successful  preaching  is  that 
which  leaves  the  fewest  untouched,  uninterested,  dis- 
contented, restless,  untempted  for  another  sermon. 
This  adventure  with  the  ultimate  critics  indicates 
with  certainty  which  cannot  be  questioned  that  the 
broad  human  hungers  of  the  whole  seeking  race  are 
the  hungers  for  the  preacher's  consideration.    And 


36  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

perhaps  great  preachers  are  rare  because  so  few  men 
know  the  race  well  enough  and  the  art  well  enough 
to  make  the  connection.  At  least,  we  who  preach  as 
well  as  we  can,  dare  not  beg  to  be  excused  from  the 
clear  implications  of  this  suggestive  evidence. 

These  are  the  lists  of  the  first  ten  sermons  se- 
lected by  the  various  groups,  the  titles  being  placed 
in  order  of  rank  in  the  voting : 

Business  Men  (498  votes)  :  On  Distance  in  Religion;  The 
We-ness  of  Us ;  Says  I,  to  Myself ;  A  Preacher  Unashamed ; 
Take  Your  Choice ;  What  the  World  Owes  Me ;  Why  I  am 
a  Minister ;  How  to  Make  a  Pearl ;  Why  I  am  a  Christian ; 
How  to  Make  the  Sun  Stand  Still. 

Professional  Men  (202  votes):  On  Distance  in  Religion; 
The  We-ness  of  Us ;  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of 
Voice;  What  the  World  Owes  Me;  How  to  Listen  to  a  Ser- 
mon ;  Take  Your  Choice ;  Kings  and  Priests ;  Says  I,  to  My- 
self;  The  Miracle  of  Me;  How  to  Make  the  Sun  Stand  Still. 

Women  (Home)  (907  votes):  On  Distance  in  Religion; 
The  We-ness  of  Us ;  Says  I,  to  Myself ;  A  Preacher  Un- 
ashamed ;  How  to  Make  a  Pearl ;  Take  Your  Choice ;  The 
Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice ;  Why  I  am  a  Christian ; 
What  the  World  Owes  Me;  The  Miracle  of  Me. 

Women  (Business)  (436  votes)  :  On  Distance  in  Religion; 
The  We-ness  of  Us;  Take  Your  Choice;  Says  I,  to  Myself; 
How  to  Make  a  Pearl ;  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of 
Voice;  Religion  at  21 ;  Why  I  am  a  Christian;  How  to  Make 
the  Sun  Stand  Still ;  A  Preacher  Unashamed. 

Children  (136  votes):  On  Distance  in  Religion:  The  We- 
ness  of  Us;  Are  We  Disappointing  Jesus  in  Our  Baptism?; 
Take  Your  Choice ;  A  Preacher  Unashamed ;  Belgium  and 
You;  Kings  and  Priests;  Why  I  am  a  Christian;  How  to 
Listen  to  a  Sermon ;  Why  I  am  a  Baptist. 

Students  (Men)  (380  votes)  :  Religion  at  21 ;  The  Strategy 
of  Foch ;  On  Distance  in  Religion;  Says  I,  to  Myself;  The 
We-ness  of  Us ;  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice ; 
Studies  from  the  Stadium ;  Life's  Honor  System ;  Why  I  am 
a  Minister;  The  Miracle  of  Me. 


THE  CRITICS  CLASSIFIED  37 

Students  {Women)  (503  votes)  :  The  We-ncss  of  Us;  Says 
I,  to  Myself ;  On  Distance  in  Religion ;  Religion  at  21 ;  Take 
Your  Choice;  How  to  Make  a  Pearl;  Studies  from  the 
Stadium ;  Life's  Honor  System ;  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the 
Tone  of  Voice ;  Why  I  am  a  Christian. 

The  Preacher  (1  vote)  :  The  Miracle  of  Me;  Belgium  and 
You ;  The  Strategy  of  Foch ;  Why  I  am  a  Minister ;  The  Holy 
Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice ;  How  to  Make  the  Sun  Stand 
Still ;  Religion  at  21 ;  How  to  Listen  to  a  Sermon ;  On  Distance 
in  Religion. 

And  this  is  their  lesson :  Men's  sermons  for  men. 
Fishing  vocabulary  for  fishermen.  Philosophy  for 
Athens.  Theology  for  Nicodemus.  Well-water  con- 
versation for  the  sinning,  thirsting  woman  with  the 
jar.  But  for  congregations,  modern,  diversified, 
searching  congregations — the  great  themes,  in  the 
common  words  of  our  shared  vocabulary,  simply 
and  briefly  spoken,  illumined  by  a  bit  of  daring  new- 
ness in  manner  and  flaring  enthusiasm  in  spirit. 

Thus  speak  the  ultimate  critics.    And  they  know. 


V 
TITLES  AND  SO  FORTH 

There  is  an  art  in  title-composition.  But  it  can 
lead  an  ardent  devotee  into  deep  despair  and  utter 
confounding. 

Many  a  sermon  has  suffered  because  it  was 
announced  and  remembered  (or  rather  forgotten) 
by  an  inept  title.  Preachers  often  libel  their  own 
productions  by  the  outworn  unattractive  labels 
attached.  No  man  can  be  a  truly  successful 
preacher  in  these  days  of  headlines  and  headline- 
appetite,  unless  he  studies  the  technique  which  gives 
his  sermon  a  fair  chance  in  this  hurrying  world 
by  endowing  it  with  a  befitting  name. 

But  many  a  sermon,  good  in  itself,  has  gone  down 
under  waves  of  resentment  and  scorn  because  it 
carried  too  clever  a  title.  The  man  who  spends 
more  time  on  his  heading  than  he  spends  on  his 
head-work  is  guilty  of  the  same  foolish  sin  which 
has  condemned  so  many  manufacturers  to  dingy 
failure.  The  wrapper  must  not  overestimate  the 
goods.  There  is  no  fury  quite  like  that  of  the 
man  who  comes  lured  by  a  sermon-title  and  goes 
away  convinced  that  the  preacher  is  a  shrewd 
"  window-trimmer,"  careless  of  the  chances  of  a 
second  visit  so  long  as  he  can  lure  his  customer 
inside  his  place  of  business  just  once.  A  title 
38 


TITLES  AND  SO  FORTH  39 

must  be  no  more  and  no  less  than  fair.  So  the 
ultimate  critics  say.  And  a  title  cannot  make  a 
sermon  better  by  being  more  enticing  than  the 
sermon  itself.  When  this  phenomenon  occurs  the 
sermon  effect  is  ruined,  not  enhanced. 

The  leading  sermon  of  the  year  was  one  which 
succeeded  in  spite  of  a  clumsy  title.  "  On  Distance 
in  Religion  "  is  without  a  sparkle,  and  its  sole  vir- 
tue is  that  it  does  seem  somewhat  descriptive  of 
the  subject-matter.  Yet  the  sermon  was  chosen 
overwhelmingly  for  repetition.  There  follow  nine 
sermons  which  had  fairly  fit  and  effective  titles, 
and  which  found  no  handicaps  in  their  labels.  But 
on  the  list  of  unmentioned  sermons  are  many  which 
would  be  recognized  by  one  who  had  followed  the 
whole  course  of  the  preaching  as  falling  into  two 
classes.  One  of  these  classes  includes  the  sermons 
which  suffered  from  poor  titles,  such  as  "  Belgium 
and  You  "  (too  indefinite),  "  The  Challenge  of  the 
Modern  Church  "  (too  bromidic),  "  Victory  '*  (too 
laconic),  or  "Kings  and  Priests"  (too  unat- 
tractive). The  other  class  is  made  up  of  sermons 
which  suffered  from  good  titles,  titles  which  raised 
expectations  which  the  sermons  failed  to  satisfy. 
Specifications  on  this  point  might  prove  odious. 
The  principle  is  clear.  And  the  ballots  show  that 
tempting  display  without  a  corresponding  quality 
of  goods  is  the  most  dangerous  preaching  policy  in 
the  world.  "  Alpha  kai  Omega  "  was  a  case  of 
innocent  deception  which  reveals  the  principle. 
The  sermon  was  an  exposition  of  "  God — the  be- 
ginning and  the  ending,"  and  the  Greek  letters  of 


40  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

the  title  were  quoted  from  the  context  of  that  refer- 
ence. But  in  this  city  of  Greek  letter  college  frater- 
nities, the  announced  title  aroused  some  expecta- 
tion that  the  preacher  would  deal  with  the  college 
fraternity  problem.  With  this  expectation  aroused 
and  confronting  him,  the  preacher  might  wax  ever 
so  eloquently  effective  over  '*  God — the  beginning 
and  the  ending,"  all  to  no  avail.  The  sermon  was 
ruined  before  it  was  preached.  It  could  not  have 
its  legitimate  effect.  If  this  be  true  when  the  decep- 
tion is  wholly  without  guile,  the  fact  mxarks  a  path- 
way of  destruction  for  the  man  who  deliberately 
plans  to  tempt  people  inside  his  doors  by  flamboy- 
ant promise  in  his  titles,  and  then  gives  them  the 
best  he  can  hurriedly  prepare  for  the  anticipating 
minds.  For  the  congregation  unerringly  detects 
and  selects  for  despising  scorn  the  sermons  which 
promised  more  than  they  performed. 

If  the  sermons  on  the  accompanying  list  had  been 
made  to  bear  their  dates  and  occasions  it  would  be 
easy  to  notice  a  fact  which,  without  dates,  might 
escape  mention.  The  effective  preaching  of  the 
year  seems  to  come  in  well-marked  and  restricted 
periods  of  time.  A  mere  glance  at  the  results  will 
show  that  first  and  second  in  the  balloting  were  ser- 
mons preached  on  successive  Sunday  mornings; 
that  on  the  following  Sunday  morning  the  fourth 
choice  was  given,  and  that  sixth  and  tenth  in  the 
voting  were  delivered  on  the  second  and  third  Sun- 
day nights  of  this  distinguished  series.  Five  of  the 
best  sermons  of  the  year  were  preached  within  the 
boundaries  of  two  weeks,  and  the  eighth  choice 


TITLES  AND  SO  FORTH  41 

was  preached  just  two  weeks  before.  Then  follows 
a  long  stretch  of  comparative  mediocrity,  broken 
only  by  the  popularity  of  "  Religion  at  21  "  and 
"  The  Holy  Sabbath  and  the  Tone  of  Voice,"  which 
were  fifth  and  ninth  in  the  final  results,  and  which 
came  at  long  intervals.  But  the  third  and  seventh 
choices  mark  another  period  of  effective  preaching. 
For  "  Why  I  am  a  Christian  "  and  "  Says  I,  to 
Myself  "  were  preached  on  consecutive  Sundays, 
and  they  are  surrounded  by  "  Why  I  am  a  Baptist," 
''  Why  I  am  a  Minister,"  and  "  Life's  Honor  Sys- 
tem," w^hich  occupied  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thir- 
teenth places  in  the  final  ranking.  The  chart  on 
which  the  votes  w^ere  recorded  in  the  tabulation 
makes  this  fact  graphically  impressive:  Good 
preaching  tends  to  occur  in  well-defined  waves  of 
effectiveness,  not  sporadic  and  individual  successes 
separated  by  periods  of  commonplaces. 

It  is  probable  that  this  may  be  explained  in  part 
by  the  physical  vigor  and  mental  alertness  of  the 
preacher,  which  reached  top  heights  in  periods,  and 
which  showed  themselves  in  his  pulpit  work.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  a  chart  of  this  particular  preacher's 
excess  vitality  would  very  closely  correspond  to 
the  chart  of  his  best  sermons.  Thus  do  our  new- 
found critics  stress  a  point  which  our  teachers 
have  never  overemphasized :  //  you  would  preach 
well,  keep  well.  The  difference  between  a  fagged 
preacher  who  is  trying  hard  to  rally  his  forces  to 
the  demands  of  a  Sunday  duty,  and  a  vibrant, 
exuberant,  rested,  trained,  ready  preacher  who  has 
deliberately  brought  himself  to  top  form  for  the 

D 


42  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

most  important  task  of  his  life,  is  the  difference 
between  failure  and  success.  You  cannot  fool  your 
people  by  many  gestures  and  the  too  eager  vocal 
gymnastics  of  stimulated  nerves.  They  know  when 
you  are  ready  and  poised,  and  they  pray  to  be 
delivered  from  a  repetition  of  your  exhausted  over- 
painted  failures. 

But  any  such  explanation  leaves  out  of  account 
that  phenomenon  which  every  thoughtful  preacher 
has  observed  in  his  own  program.  There  is  a 
momentum  in  preaching.  A  failure  on  one  Sunday 
sets  its  curse  over  a  number  of  Sundays  to  come. 
And  a  glorious  success  on  one  Sunday  spreads  its 
radiance  over  the  preparation  and  preaching  of 
many  succeeding  weeks.  If  there  is  good  advice 
to  be  gained  from  a  glance  at  this  obvious  fact  it 
is  this:  Make  every  sermon  an  event.  Be  content 
with  no  feeble  effort.  Save  nothing  for  a  better 
chance.  Chances  become  progressively  less  good  as 
you  postpone  the  delivery  of  your  best.  If  you  have 
commonplace  sermons  which  might  be  used  on  ordi- 
nary Sundays,  postpone  them  until  you  have  made 
them  something  more  than  commonplace  sermons, 
or  else  destroy  them  and  forget  them.  There  are 
no  ordinary  Sundays.  Every  sermon  must  make  an 
attempt  to  be  your  best  sermon.  There  is  no  ges- 
ture so  effective  in  banishing  the  apathy  of  blue 
Monday  like  the  solemn  and  holy  prayer  that  on 
the  next  Sunday  it  may  be  our  right  to  show  forth 
Christ  more  fittingly  than  ever  in  our  lives  before. 
Preach  every  sermon  as  if  it  were  your  last  sermon. 

The  plan  of  the  ballots  had  one  unforeseen  and 


TITLES  AND  SO  FORTH  43 

favorable  result.  It  stimulated,  beyond  all  expec- 
tation, recollections  of  the  material  which  entered 
into  the  year's  preaching.  The  lists  became  a  focal 
point  for  parish  conversation.  Sermons  which  had 
become  dim  in  m.emory  were  called  up  by  the  effort 
of  the  will,  and  examined  for  strength  or  weak- 
ness. The  whole  volume  of  the  pulpit  proclama- 
tion was  renewed  in  memory.  And  by  that  much, 
what  was  good  in  it  became  new  in  its  effective- 
ness. No  preacher  can  live  through  a  year  without 
some  trace  of  lament  at  the  fleeting  transitoriness 
of  the  spoken  word.  Most  of  his  phrases  evapo- 
rate almost  as  quickly  as  they  are  spoken.  What 
will  he  say,  then,  of  a  device  which  teaches  him  new 
things  about  preaching,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
news the  hundreds  of  preaching  impressions  which 
have  cost  him  his  life-blood? 

Best  of  all,  there  is  apparent  in  the  congrega- 
tion an  altogether  new  interest  in  the  sermons 
now  being  preached.  For  it  is  understood  that 
the  selection  of  five  sermons  for  repetition  will  be 
an  annual  affair,  and  every  sermon  which  is  enjoyed 
now  becomes  a  candidate  for  next  year's  election. 
People  come  thronging  to  the  preacher  to  say,  "  We 
have  that  sermon  down  for  repreaching  next  year." 
Rather  an  adventitious  interest,  of  course,  and  one 
not  to  be  rated  too  highly.  But  not  without  its 
value.  For  most  of  us  have  learned  Scripture 
verses  in  a  game,  only  to  have  them  recur  help- 
fully in  times  of  need.  And  there  is  no  doubt  about 
the  preacher's  choice  between  having  a  sermon  re- 
membered as  a  candidate  for  a  forthcoming  election 


44  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

and  having  a  sermon  remembered  not  at  all.     The 
method  is  justified  in  the  result. 

If  it  be  feared  that  people  do  not  care  to  hear 
sermons  repeated,  the  experience  of  this  adventure 
contradicts  that  fear.  It  may  be  safely  assumed 
that  people  resent  an  old  sermon  when  they  have 
been  led  to  expect  a  new  one,  especially  if  the  old 
sermon  is  masquerading  under  a  new  title.  But 
when  the  old  one  is  frankly  announced,  and  espe- 
cially when  they  have  had  a  share  in  the  selection 
of  the  old  one,  a  surprising  interest  attaches  to 
the  repetition.  Russell  Conwell,  with  his  six  thou- 
sandth delivery  of  "  Acres  of  Diamonds,"  is  an  ex- 
ample of  the  rule.  His  audiences  are  made  up 
partly  of  people  who  want  to  know  what  kind  of 
lecture  can  survive  six  thousand  presentations; 
and  partly  of  people  who  have  heard  him  once  or 
many  times  before,  and  who  have  brought  others 
along  to  be  initiated  in  the  experience.  Just 
so  when  it  is  announced  that  sermons  are  to  be 
repeated  by  popular  request.  A  number  of  peo- 
ple are  stirred  to  interest  in  a  sermon  which  can 
be  preached  twice  in  the  same  church.  And  the 
people  who  voted  for  that  sermon  immediately  as- 
sume a  certain  proprietary  interest  in  it  as  "  their 
sermon,"  and  may  be  depended  upon  to  scatter 
invitations  far  and  wide  welcoming  their  friends 
to  listen.  Indeed,  it  became  necessary  to  announce 
at  the  beginning  of  this  series  of  repetitions  that 
while  no  one  would  be  barred  from  the  church 
while  there  was  room,  it  was  requested  that  only 
those  who  had  voted  for  the  sermon  which  was  to 


TITLES  AND  SO  FORTH  45 

be   repreached   should    feel    free  to   invite   others. 
And  the  auditorium  was  crowded  to  the  doors. 

For  the  preacher  may  well  learn  the  lesson  which 
is  being  forced  upon  industry.  The  worker  does 
not  want  to  own  and  profit,  over  and  above  his 
just  deserts.  He  does  want  a  sense  of  sharing  in 
the  policies  and  programs  of  his  enterprise.  He 
wants  to  function  as  a  chooser.  So  say  sociolo- 
gists. The  man  in  the  congregation,  likewise,  does 
not  want  to  preach.  But  he  does  relish  a  chance 
now  and  then  to  choose  his  preaching.  He  likes  to 
have  an  opportunity  to  speak  his  mind  without 
embarrassment  on  the  subject  of  the  preaching  to 
which  he  has  been  exposed.  And  when  his  votes 
have  been  counted,  whether  his  candidate  has  won 
or  not,  he  brings  to  the  church  with  him  the  com- 
forting assurance  that  he  has  had  a  part  in  the 
decision.  These  are  his  sermons.  This  is  his 
church.  This  is  his  kind  of  a  preacher.  He,  the 
ultimate  critic,  has  had  a  chance  to  speak. 


PART  II 


THE  SERMONS 


ON  DISTANCE  IN  RELIGION 

Text :  Jesus  said  unto  her,  "  Thou  hast  well  said, 
*  I  have  no  husband/  For  thou  hast  had  five  hus- 
bands, and  he  whom  thou  now  hast  is  not  thy  hus- 
band.    In  that  saidst  thou  truly." 

The  woman  saith  unto  him,  **  Sir,  I  perceive  that 
thou  art  a  prophet.  Our  fathers  worshiped  in  this 
mountain ;  and  ye  say,  that  in  Jerusalem  is  the  place 
v/here  men  ought  to  worship." — John  4  :  17-20. 

A  wise  man  once  said,  "  If  you  will  let  me  write 
the  songs  of  a  nation,  I  care  not  who  writes  its 
laws."  It  is  a  significant  sentence.  But  neither 
laws  nor  songs  are  written  thus  by  choice,  so  the 
statement,  while  a  wise  one,  is  a  harmless  matter 
of  theory.  A  slight  change  in  the  epigram,  how- 
ever, transforms  it  into  a  practical  program  of 
investigation.  ''If  you  want  to  know  the  character 
of  a  nation,  listen  to  its  songs,  and  you  need  not 
study  its  laws." 

Grant  this  dictum  to  be  true.  Then  study 
America.  What  a  riotous  phantasmagoria  of  life 
we  sense  when  we  approach  America  by  way  of 
her  songs,  running  the  whole  gamut  from  the  quiet 
loveliness  of  ''  Silver  Threads  among  the  Gold  "  to 
the  senseless  jazz  jumble  of  "  Ja-Da,"  from  the  in- 
spiring martial  spirit  of  "  America,  the  Beautiful," 

49 


50  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

to  the  crude  rot  of  "  Chili  Bean."  O,  my  country, 
study  yourself  in  your  songs!  And  take  courage 
to  repent! 

Turn  from  America.  Glance  for  a  moment  at  the 
Negro  race.  Listen  to  the  message  of  their  songs. 
Here  are  melodies  which  were  not  wrought  out  in 
the  longhand  of  correct  musical  notation  over  the 
glistening  keyboard  of  a  Steinway  grand.  No  cul- 
tured mentality  supplied  intricate  harmonies  for  the 
plantation  songs  of  the  happy  wistful  South.  The 
simple  hymns  came  welling  up,  words  and  music 
wedded  in  an  ecstacy  of  faith,  perhaps  during  the 
lonely  hours  of  a  long  and  solitary  night,  perhaps 
in  the  fevered  excitement  of  a  glorious  camp- 
meeting.  And  having  sung  themselves  into  life, 
they  passed  into  the  currency  of  traditional  folk 
treasure,  and  became  a  vivid  revelation  of  the  Negro 
soul. 

Here  is  a  quick,  syncopated,  shuffling  tune  which 
makes  us  see  gleaming  eyes,  white  teeth  shining 
against  a  background  of  dark  skin,  and  the  exag- 
gerated gestures  of  a  mimic  people : 

Fo'  He  sees  what  you  do, 
An'  He  hears  what  you  say, 
My  Lawd  am  writin'  all  de  time ! 

Here  is  a  slower  plaintive  musical  phrase,  with 
a  tear  and  a  smile  in  it : 

Ho,  Dinah,  stop  yo'  pining, 
Pharaoh's  army  got  drownded  ! 

And  here  is  a  minor  tragic  strain  with  the  quiet 
sadness  of  broken  hearts  resolved  into  faith  by  the 


ON  DISTANCE  IN  RELIGION  51 


beauty  of  the  final  measure.  See  how  well  it  trans- 
mits the  atmosphere  of  that  gray  morning  when  the 
weeping  woman  sought  the  body  of  the  slain  Christ 
in  the  erarden  of  tombs : 


to' 


Is  dere  anybuddy  here  like  weepin'  Mary? 
Call  upon  yo'  Jesus, 
An'  He'll  draw  near. 

They  are  as  different  in  their  message  as  they 
are  in  their  mood  and  their  melody.  But  through 
them  I  would  have  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
faith  of  the  Negro.  For  this  is  a  day  in  which  men 
are  being  deluded  into  a  conception  of  the  universe 
which  places  the  things  of  religion  afar  off.  And 
the  Negro  race  has  a  message  for  us.  For  the 
Negro  succeeded  in  conquering  distance  in  religion. 

Take  the  first  of  our  three  songs.  Here  is  a 
picture  of  a  God  with  eyes  mysteriously  watching 
everywhere,  and  ears  mysteriously  listening  for  each 
faint  whisper — a  God  who  observes  the  slightest 
gesture  and  catches  the  smallest  syllable — a  God  who 
has  near  him  a  great  record-book  like  a  plantation 
ledger,  in  which  he  writes  with  his  own  hand  the 
story  of  the  failures  and  successes  of  his  vagrant 
creatures. 

You  may  tell  me  that  we  have  passed  beyond  such 
crudities  of  conception.  You  may  insist  that  our 
minds  cannot  accept  such  glaring  anthropomor- 
phism. The  inconceivable  star  spaces  and  the  infini- 
tesimal revelations  of  the  microscope  have  spoiled 
all  that.  You  may  point  to  the  philosophical  gains 
which  these  recent  years  have  registered.    You  may 


52  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

sneer  at  a  race  which  could  sum  up  moral  responsi- 
bility in  the  terms  of  a  great  balance-book  and  in- 
delible God-made  marks.  But  the  blundering  minds 
which  you  scorn  were  sure  of  one  thing,  the  near- 
ness of  God  as  an  inescapable  judge.  And  here  the 
Negro  is  clearly  and  triumphantly  right ! 

Every  word  and  deed  of  your  careless  sophisti- 
cated soul  is  recorded  for  the  light  or  the  darkness 
in  the  eternal  balance-books  of  the  vast  ages  of 
choice.  You  can  make  no  decision,  however  trivial, 
which  does  not  echo  through  the  halls  of  unborn 
generations.  Nothing  escapes  the  reckoning.  Sci- 
ence asserts  it  as  eloquently  as  ever  did  supersti- 
tion. And  if  your  God  has  become  a  far-away 
abstraction,  with  no  ears  for  the  whispered  words 
of  your  lonely  courage,  and  no  eyes  for  the  tiny 
defections  of  your  cowardice,  you  are  terribly 
deluded. 

Glance  at  the  figure  of  the  woman  at  the  well. 
Listen  to  a  few  sentences  of  her  conversation  with 
Jesus.  He  has  been  speaking  with  all  the  impressive- 
ness  of  his  frankness,  and  she,  listening  in  interest 
and  wonder,  has  come  at  last  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  must  be  a  prophet.  ''  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou 
art  a  prophet."  Note  now  how  naively  she  steers 
the  conversation  from  her  sins — in  which  a  prophet 
could  surely  have  no  interest — to  theological  discus- 
sion, which  was  exactly  the  correct  field  for  the 
prophet  in  her  opinion.  "  Tell  me,"  says  she, 
"Who  is  right?  He  who  says  we  must  worship 
in  Jerusalem,  or  he  who  says  God  may  be  found 
on  this  mountain." 


ON  DISTANCE  IN  RELIGION  53 

Alas!  too  many  moderns  follow  her.  Religion, 
they  say,  is  to  deal  with  dogma  and  doctrine  and 
ritual.  Prophets  are  to  confine  themselves  to  the 
abstractions  of  theology.  Preachers  have  no  busi- 
ness meddling  with  fine  points  of  business  and  po- 
litical and  private  behavior.  Let  them  stick  to  their 
lasts.    And  their  lasts  are  theologies. 

The  Negro  knew  better.  Faith's  language  is  not 
fine  words,  but  courage  and  truth  every  day.  God 
is  not  a  definition.  God  is  a  judge.  And  religion  is 
that  whole  fabric  of  moral  issues  made  up  of  the 
trivial  conduct  of  today.  *'  He  does  see  what  you 
do,  he  does  hear  what  you  say,"  and  the  motives 
of  our  days  are  tirelessly  and  accurately  recorded 
for  eternity. 

Ho,  Dinah,  stop  yo'  pining, 
Pharaoh's  army  got  drownded! 

Strange  mixture  of  comforting  advice  and 
ancient  miracle  narrative,  you  say.  Obviously  a 
song  has  a  right  to  urge  a  weary  woman  to  take 
heart  again.  But  why  drag  in  Pharaoh?  What 
possible  connection  can  there  be  between  Dinah  and 
the  raging  Egyptian  king?  And  what  an  absurd 
old  story  it  is,  even  if  the  connection  be  assumed? 
A  fleeing  rabble  of  slaves  find  a  dry  high- 
way through  a  great  sea ;  the  pursuing  army  comes 
clanging  down  into  the  pathway  between  the  mysteri- 
ously walled  waters,  only  to  be  engulfed  when  the 
walls  give  way  and  the  sea  rolls  over  them.  This 
whole  scene  might  be  very  real  to  the  untutored 


54  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

Negro  mind  :  Dinah  may  be  able  to  hear  quite  plainly 
the  shouts  of  Pharaoh's  horsemen,  the  thud  of 
hastening  hoofs,  the  clamor  of  wheeling  chariots, 
and  the  soft  swish  of  merciless  waters  when  the 
fate  of  a  relentless  God  settled  down  over  his  ene- 
mies. Dinah  may  be  able  to  sense  the  inexpressible 
jubilation  of  the  "  chillun  ob  Israel,"  when  looking 
back  they  saw  the  wreckage  of  the  menacing  army. 
But  that  is  all  part  of  a  past  day,  you  say. 

You  have  come  to  know  that  this  is  a  universe 
of  law.  Chemical  and  biological  laboratories, 
mathematics  and  geolog>^  and  astronomy  have  given 
you  confidence  in  the  processes  of  events.  You  can- 
not think  of  a  God  who  dips  his  hand  into  the 
waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  cups  the  waves  back 
until  his  people  go  free.  The  colors  on  the  picture 
have  grown  dim  in  the  years,  and  the  echoes  of 
those  ancient  sounds  are  lost. 

I  shall  not  argue  the  point  with  you,  for  I  know 
of  no  means  by  which  I  could  restore  to  you  the 
naive  expectation  of  the  Negro  soul  in  an  unordered 
universe.  And  I  would  not  if  I  could.  But  when 
the  Negro  linked  his  ancient  story  with  a  present 
discouraged  Dinah,  he  was  magnificently  right. 
And  it  is  this  power  to  conquer  distance  in  religion 
that  I  covet  for  you.  If  God  was  with  Moses,  then 
Dinah  in  a  Southern  cotton-field  has  a  right  to  the 
privilege  of  that  same  strengthening,  heartening 
presence.  Your  conception  of  an  ordered  physical 
universe  may  send  you  to  other  stories  for  your 
most  meaningful  evidences  of  triumphing  faith. 
But  wherever  you  find  God  helping  some  one,  link 


0>'  DISTANCE  L\  RELIGION  55 

Him  and  his  help  with  your  own  life's  needs.  If 
God  made  Peter  steadj-,  John  loving.  Paul  gentle, 
Luther  unafraid,  then  stop  your  pining,  and  daim 
his  hdp.  Xo  mean  armies  went  crashing  down  to 
death  under  those  myslerioos  waves  of  a  moral  God 
— varillalii^  fickleness,  thundering  temper-diariots, 
wild  excesses,  and  pitiable  cowardice — while  the  lov- 
ers of  Jesus  went  gaily  on  into  the  promised  land 
of  achievement. 

I  would  not  have  you  surrender  the  ^endid  con- 
fidence in  your  universe  of  law.  But  if  your  uni- 
verse jrfaces  a  he'- '-  -  God  far  bade  in  the  ignorant 
ages,  if  :r  r   H  f  Lincc^  and  Wesley  and 

Moody  is  rketed  form  of  energy  or 

a  rdic  of  worn  sup  t  :f  there  is  no  place  in 

the  intimacy  of  yc  r  for  that  friendly  power 

wfaicfa  worketh  cor  '  r  good,  and  in  whom 

all  good  finds  help.  --^ly  the  Xegro  has  a 

message  for  yoa  in  u^  ■  .z  ::  _Ji  of  his  Hmidering 
faith- 


s  giri,  bom  wniaont  sigiit.  and 
:d  the  care  of  a  sturdy  y 
:  z^rre.  and  the  yom^  mz" 
'■-  wfaidi  the  little 
-  poor  pc??e55for 
idy  to  nkt  r.tz  ::    :    ^        ^  : 

ith  a  '  wind  biowii^.     The  twc 

"  the  hall  of  their  own  h 
:..--  ~---   -jit  into  the 

' '  Tvn  and  1: 
Jaer  handr 


56  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

he  says  through  his  sobs :  "  It's  a  bad  day,  dear. 
You  carry  this.    And  I'll  carry  you !  " 

It  was  this  nearness  which  the  Negro  achieved. 
Whatever  his  burdens,  he  could  always  hear  a 
friendly  voice  saying,  "  You  carry  this,  and  I'll 
carry  you."  God  was  near,  was  present,  in  helpful- 
ness, for  those  who  tried  to  serve  and  trust  him. 
You  may  pity  his  ignorance,  you  may  quarrel  with 
his  tiny,  variable  universe,  but  you  must  respect 
the  ultimate  assurance  of  his  faith.  And  that  faith 
may  be  yours.  So,  Dinah,  stop  your  pining;  you 
have  seen  armies  get  '  drownded ! ' 


But  if  this  generation  needs  the  rebuke  of  the 

Negro's  assurance,  as  he  sings  of  a  God  who  is  near 

as  a  judge  and  present  in  every  time  of  need  with 

help,  we  need  still  more  the  rebuke  of  the  third 

plaintive   spiritual,   a   haunting  melancholy   strain 

which  recreates  the  misty  discouragement  of  Jesus' 

tomb. 

Is  dere  anybuddy  here  like  weepin'  Mary? 
Call  upon  yo'  Jesus, 
An'  he'll  draw  near. 

For  I  would  have  you  notice  that  the  eloquently 
emphasized  word  in  the  bare  arrangement  of  the 
sentence,  and  even  more  conspicuously  in  the  unmis- 
takable phrasing  of  the  music,  is  the  adverb 
''  here."  The  Negro  has  triumphed  again  over  dis- 
tance in  religion.  When  he  urges  the  comforting 
help  of  his  Lord  he  is  not  exhorting  far-off  mission 
fields   and  almond-eyed  heathen.     "  Is  dere  any- 


ON  DISTANCE  IN  RELIGION  57 

buddy  HERE?  "  Right  here,  in  this  row  of  plan- 
tation huts.  Right  here  in  this  camp-meeting. 
Right  here  where  the  song  is  heard. 

You  may  protest  that  this  particular  camp-meet- 
ing and  this  particular  plantation  made  up  all  the 
world  the  Negro  knew.  He  had  no  realization  of 
millions  of  people  bound  together  in  a  social  unit 
of  communication  and  privilege  and  responsibility 
by  the  magic  of  modern  invention.  A  universal 
postal  system,  telegraphy  and  wireless,  an  interna- 
tional standard  of  money- exchange,  ease  and  safety 
of  world  travel,  the  Christian  duty  toward  a  non- 
Christian  nation — these  items  had  never  occurred  to 
him.  Of  course,  he  said  "  Here,"  for  '*  Here  "  was 
all  the  world  he  knew,  the  only  adverb  he  had  the 
right  to  use. 

And  we  have  gained  immeasurably  in  our  concep- 
tion of  the  w^orld  as  a  neighborhood,  waiting  for 
the  touch  of  Jesus  to  transform  it  into  a  brother- 
hood. The  miracle  of  modern  missions  is  a  matter 
of  wonder  and  joy  to  us.  Yet  I  do  deplore  the 
fact  that  in  our  extended  horizons  we  have  lost 
something  of  the  sense  of  duty  toward  those  who 
are  right  here.  Wq  preach  by  paying  our  preach- 
ers to  do  our  preaching  for  us.  We  are  vicarious 
evangelists  by  the  liquid  magic  of  money  contrib- 
uted to  missionary  boards.  Great  organizations  do 
our  testifying  for  us,  when  they  transmit  our  im- 
pulses to  the  far  corners  of  a  waiting  world.  Yet — 
have  we  ever  personally  spoken  a  word  of  sincere 
conviction  about  Jesus  to  any  one  person  right 
here? 


58  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

I  yield  to  no  one  in  my  love  of  preaching.  And 
I  am  enthusiastic  in  my  praise  for  the  spirit  of  mod- 
ern missionary  endeavor.  But  the  superb  joy  of  a 
sermon  preached  under  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  is 
a  poor  thing  compared  with  the  satisfaction  which 
comes  when  one  tells  another  one  about  Jesus.  If 
the  burdens  of  this  church  and  the  complications  of 
its  program  ever  become  so  pressing  that  I  cannot 
go  into  a  quiet  place  with  one  young  man,  and  there 
fight  out  with  him  through  the  watches  of  the 
night  the  battle  of  aspiring  faith,  I  shall  resign 
without  delay,  and  find  some  quiet  country  parish, 
where  the  breath  of  Christian  life  is  not  denied  me. 
Meanwhile  I  shall  grapple  with  any  one  at  any 
time,  man  to  man,  on  the  things  of  faith.  And  I 
shall  urge  upon  you,  who  have  found  the  mechanism 
of  a  fine  organization  so  convenient  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  your  preaching,  the  unbelievable  hap- 
piness, as  well  as  the  insistent  duty,  of  saying  your 
frank  word  for  Jesus  right  here. 

People  seem  to  think  that  it  must  be  easy  to 
preach  Christ  in  Pekin,  even  if  it  is  hard  to  talk 
about  him  in  Syracuse.  But  notTiing  happens  when 
you  step  out  upon  a  foreign  shore,  save  an  immedi- 
ate multiplication  of  difficulties.  Thousands  of  mis- 
sionary dollars  have  been  cursed  with  the  insincer- 
ity of  givers  who  bought  conscience-comfort  by 
their  contributions  and  were  silent  when  Jesus  was 
being  mocked  in  their  own  presence. 

So  I  cannot  leave  these  three  Negro  songs — songs 
which  have  told  us  of  a  conquering  of  distance,  a 
nearness  in  the  judgment  and  the  mercy  and  the 


ON  DISTANCE  IN  RELIGION  59 

mission  of  God — without  asking  you  who  have  lis- 
tened, the  question  which  echoes  in  our  minds. 

''  Is  dere  anybuddy  here,"  right  here  in  this  silent 
congregation,  seeking  like  Mary  for  a  Saviour 
whose  triumph  you  do  not  know  ?  Is  there  any- 
body here?  Call  upon  your  Jesus!  Let  us  seek 
him  together.     He'll  draw  near! 


II 

THE  WE-NESS  OF  US 

Text:  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the 
members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honoured, 
all  the  members  rejoice  with  it.  Now  ye  are  the 
body  of  Christ. — 1  Corinthians  12  :  26,  27. 

Pershing  was  seeking  for  a  key-man.  He  needed 
some  one  to  organize  and  construct  the  A.  E.  F. 
Railway  System  in  France.  They  sent  him  Atter- 
bury,  who  had  placed  the  impress  of  his  life  on 
the  Pennsylvania  System  in  the  States.  And  Atter- 
bury  made  good  on  the  greatest  railway  task  of  the 
generation. 

What  sort  of  man  was  Atterbury?  What  can  he 
teach  the  church? 

Those  who  know  him  best  tell  us  that  he  is  the 
man  who  placed  the  original  emphasis  on  the  first 
person  plural  pronoun  "  we."  The  Pennsylvania 
was  never  known  as  his  road.  It  was  not  the  direct- 
ors' road,  nor  the  stockholders'  road,  nor  the  work- 
ers' road.  It  was  OUR  road.  A  good  month  was 
our  good  fortune.  WE  were  congratulated  when 
accidents  were  few. 

They  tell  a  true  story  of  him.  An  old  engineer, 
after  years  of  clear  record,  had  run  into  a  tragically 
terrible  disaster.  The  mystery  of  the  accident 
60 


THE  WE-NESS  OF  US  61 

seemed  impenetrable.  The  old  man  himself  was  a 
pitiable  wreck  who  jabbered  meaninglessly.  And 
only  he  knew  what  had  happened.  The  trained 
investigators  could  get  no  sensible  word  out  of  him. 
They  gave  up  the  problem.  They  were  utterly 
baffled.  Then  Atterbury  himself  sent  for  him.  A 
doctor  and  a  nurse  brought  him  to  the  executive 
offices.  The  doctor  had  a  whispered  conversation 
with  the  railroad  head  before  the  engineer  was  ad- 
mitted, and  he  warned  Atterbury  that  an  unwise 
approach  to  the  brooding  secret  of  the  man's  be- 
wildered mind  might  turn  him  into  a  raving  maniac 
in  an  instant. 

The  door  into  the  private  office  swung  open.  The 
old  man  staggered  in  and  blinked  his  eyes  in  dull 
slowness  of  recognition.  Atterbury  walked  over  to 
him,  placed  a  hand  on  his  trembling  shoulder,  looked 
him  straight  in  the  eye,  and  without  affectation  said 
simply,  "  Well,  old  man,  we've  had  a  run  of  bad 
luck,  haven't  we?  "  No  undue  emphasis  on  the  first 
person  plural  pronouns.  No  stressing  for  dramatic 
effect.  But  the  poignant  sincerity  of  the  sharing 
was  so  real  that  the  cloud  over  the  old  man's  mind 
was  banished,  and  his  eyes  gleamed  with  tears  of 
brotherly  confidence  as  he  said,  "  Yes,  Mr.  Atter- 
bury, we  have !  " 

Then  the  whole  story  came  rushing  forth,  as  if 
those  two  men  had  known  each  other  all  their  lives. 

O  church  of  Jesus,  I  would  have  you  learn  the 
power  of  we-ness!  Nothing  was  more  character- 
istic of  the  conquering  apostolic  church.  "  Behold, 
how  they  love  one  another,"  said  the  pagan  scoffers. 


62  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

and  were  less  sure  of  their  scorn  when  they  observed 
that  enviable  love.  Common  treasures,  common 
duties  and  debts,  common  burdens,  common  joys. 
Does  one  member  suffer?  All  the  members  suffer 
with  it.  Is  one  member  honored?  All  the  mem- 
bers rejoice  with  it.    Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ. 

O  church  of  Jesus,  I  would  have  you  pray  for 
we-ness.  Those  last  praying  moments  of  Jesus 
were  full  of  his  earnest  petitions  that  we  who  were 
to  enter  into  his  gospel  might  know  the  victory  of 
oneness,  which  is  the  victory  of  we-ness.  The  let- 
ters of  the  New  Testament  have  their  har- 
mony worked  around  one  central  theme:  Love 
one  another,  love  one  another.  It  is  the  melody  of 
the  Christian  life.  Yet  those  who  name  His  name 
are  often  more  critical  of  each  other  than  are  those 
who  have  no  fellowship  with  us.  The  harshest  criti- 
cism which  a  preacher  encounters  comes  from  mem- 
bers of  his  church  family,  not  from  the  armies  of 
darkness  who  assault  the  walls.  More  necessary 
than  that  your  candidate  be  elected,  more  necessary 
than  that  your  plan  of  church  business  be  adopted, 
more  necessary  than  that  your  doctrinal  position  be 
affirmed,  is  the  "we-ness  of  us."  Pray  for  it,  live 
for  it,  yield  to  it. 

O  church  of  Jesus,  I  would  have  you  boast  the 
wonder  of  we-ness.  We  prate  about  our  influential 
men,  our  social  atmosphere,  our  preacher,  our  music, 
our  well-equipped  building,  and  our  ambitious  pro- 
gram. We  have  only  one  gift  which  we  can  fairly 
boast,  and  that  boast  we  dare  not  make  unless  we 
are  constantly  striving  toward  the  perfection  of  the 


THE  WE-NESS  OF  US  63 

gift  in  us.  We  have  a  right  to  glad  pride  in  the 
''  we-ness  of  us." 

A  Scotch  preacher  was  hurrying  over  the  brow 
of  a  hill  when  he  spied  down  the  road  a  red-faced 
Scotch  lassie  toiling  up  the  slope  with  a  bonny  baby 
boy  in  her  arms. 

''  Girlie,  that's  a  big  load  for  you !  He  must  be 
pretty  heavy !  " 

''  Ah,  no,  sir.  He's  not  heavy.  He's  my  brother !  " 

Nothing  is  heavy,  if  we  are  brothers.  No  loads 
that  we  cannot  bear.  No  joys  that  we  cannot  share. 
If — if — we  are  brothers ! 


Ill 

SAYS  I,  TO  MYSELF 

Text:  Who  can  understand  his  errors?  Cleanse 
thou  me  from  secret  faults. — Psalm  19  ;  12. 

Two  modern  one-act  plays  which  have  been  pro- 
duced in  our  city  recently,  have  focused  our  atten- 
tion on  what  would  otherwise  be  an  impertinent 
question.  ''  What  do  you  say  when  you  talk  to 
yourself?  " 

The  first  of  these  miniature  dramas  was  entitled 
"  The  Bank  Account  "  and  was  part  of  the  reper- 
toire of  the  Harvard  Dramatic  Club.  Written  by 
a  student,  produced  and  acted  by  students,  it  suc- 
ceeded in  preserving  the  flavor  of  authentic  life 
largely  because  it  captured  the  poignant  tragedy  of 
deception. 

Scene,  the  living-room  of  the  Bensons'  flat.  Ben- 
son's wife  is  a  rather  withered  but  stylish  woman  evi- 
dently intent  on  keeping  up  appearances.  She  is 
preparing  to  start  out  on  an  afternoon  of  bridge- 
playing  with  a  woman  friend.  They  are  discussing 
the  bother  of  bill-collectors,  and  are  interrupted 
occasionally  by  the  demands  of  one  or  more  of  that 
tribe  who  seem  intent  upon  getting  something  on 
account  out  of  Mrs.  Benson.  In  the  conversation 
it  develops  that  Mrs.  Benson  has  been  systematically 
64 


SAYS  I,  TO  MYSELF  65 

spending  and  gambling  away  the  tiny  dole  of  three 
dollars  a  week  which  Benson  has  been  entrusting 
to  her  for  a  savings-deposit.  But  she  keeps  the 
sympathy  of  her  friend  who  comments  caustically 
on  the  inability  of  men  to  understand.  "  A  woman 
must  have  some  things!  "  While  the  friend  is  off 
on  an  errand  for  Mrs.  Benson,  enter  Frank  Benson 
himself.  Shriveled  face  and  hands,  bent  back,  worn 
clothes  with  shiny  sleeves,  betray  the  clerk  who  has 
been  in  the  treadmill  of  business.  But  there  is  a 
gleam  in  his  eye  which  is  not  characteristic  of  the 
type.  He  has  come  home,  he  says,  for  a  celebration. 
Today  is  their  anniversary.  No,  not  a  birthday, 
nor  a  wedding  date,  but  the  best  anniversary  in  their 
lives.  Twelve  years  ago  today  they  started  their 
savings-account  together,  and  today  it  must  amount 
to  exactly  $3,000,  which  was  the  goal  of  their  hopes. 
He  has  come  home  to  write  a  letter  to  his  boss.  All 
through  the  years  he  has  possessed  his  soul  in 
patience  while  *'  Beefy  "  Anson,  the  head  of  his  con- 
cern, bullied  him.  He  has  come  home  angry  beyond 
endurance  night  after  night,  and  has  worked  off  his 
steam  by  writing  letters  which  he  filed  next  morning 
back  of  an  old  picture-frame.  But  these  letters  were 
only  practise  for  the  one  he  is  planning  to  write 
now.  Tomorrow  he  and  the  Mrs.  would  start  out  to 
find  the  little  chicken-farm  of  which  he  had 
dreamed,  and  he  would  be  free  at  last.  And  this 
afternoon  they  are  to  celebrate  together. 

She  falters  that  she  has  an  appointment  with  her 
friend,  but  he  brushes  this  aside  with  a  happy  laugh, 
and  makes  ready  to  proceed  on  the  lark.    Suddenly 


66  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

she  flings  herself  at  his  feet  and  sobs  out  the  terrible 
news  that  there  isn't  enough  in  the  bank,  she  has 
spent  some  of  it,  there  isn't  any  of  it  left,  not  a  cent, 
she  has  squandered  it  all.  We  watch  him  writhe 
with  the  anguish  of  the  unbelievable ;  then  he  gains 
control  of  himself;  the  fingers  which  had  been 
spread  out  straight  and  far  in  the  ecstacy  of  his 
freedom  begin  to  cramp  themselves  into  fit  talons 
for  the  inevitable  pen ;  the  back  bends  again  as  if  he 
is  standing  over  a  desk;  he  moves  his  right  hand 
in  the  agony  of  penmanship;  and  makes  ready  to 
start  back  with  his  lunch-pail  to  the  desk  and  the 
taunts  of  "  Beefy  "  Anson. 

His  retreating  steps  sound  in  the  hall,  and  their 
dull  thud  sends  you  off  into  speculation.  What  was 
that  foolish  woman  thinking  of  through  the  days  of 
her  despicable  deception?  What  was  she  saying 
when  she  talked  to  herself? 

*' Overtones "  is  the  title  of  the  second  play. 
Somewhat  more  skilful  and  professional  in  its  use 
of  dramatic  devices  and  values,  it  proceeds  at  once 
to  the  very  center  of  our  problem.  There  are  four 
characters  in  the  piece,  Harriet  and  Margaret,  two 
cultured  women  engaged  in  a  social  call,  and  Hetty 
and  Maggie,  the  "  primitive  selves  "  of  these  two. 
Harriet  has  married  a  rich  husband,  and  is  living 
in  wealth,  after  having  refused  the  love  of  an  artist. 
Margaret  has  married  the  artist  and  is  living  in  the 
penury  of  his  poverty.  She  has  come  to  Harriet 
intent  on  gaining  an  order  for  the  painting  of  a 
portrait  which  will  mean  temporary  relief  from 
their  financial  distress.     Harriet  is  discontented  at 


SAYS  I,  TO  MYSELF  67 

the  sordidness  of  her  own  life  and  constantly  remi- 
niscent of  the  possibilities  of  the  artist.  Both  are 
forced  to  bluff  their  way  through  the  conventionali- 
ties of  an  ordinary  conversation,  but  back-stage, 
their  primitive  selves,  Hetty  and  Maggie,  carry  on 
the  brutally  frank  intercourse  of  unveneered  mo- 
tives. It  is  a  startling  revelation  of  the  contrast 
between  our  ordinary  street-wear  conversation,  and 
that  silent  drama  which  is  presented  when  I  talk 
to  myself. 

I  shudder  when  I  remember  the  two  plots  and 
their  obvious  significance.  I  pass  for  a  fairly  decent 
fellow.  But  I  blush  with  shame  when  I  confront 
the  malignant  devilishness  of  my  Overtone,  my 
primitive  self,  my  phantom-double,  who  lurks  in 
the  dark  shadows  of  my  unexpressed  life. 

And  you  who  sit  so  quietly  in  these  orderly  pews, 
I  see  nothing  suspicious  in  you.  Excellent  clothes 
in  good  repair,  careful  manners,  places  made  for 
strangers  with  elaborate  courtesy,  voices  raised  in, 
the  melodies  of  these  magnificent  hymns,  quiet  rev- 
erence at  prayertime. 

But  when  you  are  alone,  when  you  talk  to  your- 
self, what  kind  of  soul  do  you  expose?  In  the 
silent  play  which  goes  on  behind  the  curtain  of 
your  brows,  are  you  hero  or  coward  ? 

What  deceptions  haunt  you?  Have  you  spoken 
harshly  of  some  one  to  another  for  the  sake  of 
the  gain  accruing  to  yourself?  And  are  you  afraid 
that  those  harsh  words  will  some  day  be  checked 
by  the  sweet  syrup  of  flattery  which  you  have  ladled 
out  to  him  and  his  friends  ?    Have  you  chapters  in 


68  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

your  life  which  must  not  be  placed  side  by  side  lest 
you  lose  your  prestige?  Are  you  keeping  back 
what  belongs  to  another,  and  covering  your  sin 
with  the  empty  gestures  of  feigned  faithfulness? 
Are  you  living  in  the  web  of  bluff,  which  threatens 
to  strangle  you  in  its  coils?  O,  what  a  tangled 
w^b  we  weave,  when  first  we  practise  to  deceive! 
Does  your  face  grow  hot  and  your  heart  start  in 
spurts  as  you  see  yourself  tonight? 

What  ambitions  taunt  you  ?  You  seem  to  be  fairly 
contented  with  your  life.  You  are  not  sour  of 
countenance,  nor  growling  in  voice.  You  say  that 
you  might  be  able  to  use  a  little  more  of  what  you 
now  have,  but  on  the  whole  you  are  satisfied  to  plod 
along.  But  what  do  you  say  when  you  talk  to  your- 
self about  your  ambitions?  Whose  feet  would  you 
trip  up,  if  the  tripping  would  place  you  in  his  posi- 
tion? W^hosje  honor  would  you  besmirch  if  you 
could  achieve  his  honor?  What  would  you  wring 
from  the  world  if  you  had  the  world  in  your  power? 
What  kind  of  Caesar  would  you  make?  Your  boy- 
hood and  girlhood  hopes  of  fame  and  glory  as  a 
push-cart  pedler  or  an  opera  prima  donna  have 
faded  into  absurdity,  but  w^hat  are  your  dreams, 
when  freed  from  the  bonds  of  fact,  you  dare  to 
dream  to  yourself? 

What  lusts  betray  you?  You  talk  the  language 
of  gentility,  and  move  in  the  best  circles  of  society. 
Nobody  ever  caught  you  in  crime.  You  have 
avoided  all  penalty.  You  live  surrounded  by  evi- 
dences of  trust.  But  what  are  your  thoughts  when 
you  think  by  yourself  ?    What  are  the  specters  which 


SAYS  I,  TO  MYSELF  69 

dog  your  thoughts  in  the  darkness  of  the  night? 
What  are  you  planning  when  you  dehberately  enter 
a  shadowy  theater  which  has  led  you  by  lurid  an- 
nouncements into  its  gilded  gates?  To  what  are 
you  catering  when  you  turn  the  pages  of  garish 
stories,  and  examine  the  unworthy  hearts  of  sex- 
beset  heroes  and  heroines?  What  kind  of  brute 
are  you  when  you  are  alone,  and  talk  to  yourself? 

I  have  not  purposely  designed  this  evening  of  hor- 
rors for  your  own  discomfort.  But  I  would  strip 
from  you  some  of  that  brazen  self-confidence  which 
prevents  you  from  sensing  your  peril  until  it  is  too 
late.  Freed  from  the  major  outbreaks  of  crude 
souls,  have  you  ever  prayed  to  be  delivered  from 
your  secret  sins  ?  Have  you  been  content  to  harbor 
unspoken  words  and  unexpressed  desires,  holding 
them  in  the  leash  of  your  discipline,  feeding  them 
upon  the  encouragement  of  quiet,  but  in  reality  only 
making  them  the  more  ravenous  for  the  day  of 
destruction  ? 

I  have  seen  men  who  apparently  succeeded  in 
avoiding  jail  and  preserving  a  good  reputation  with- 
out the  power  of  Jesus.  But  I  have  yet  to  meet  a 
man  whose  mind  w^as  quiet  when  he  talked  to  him- 
self, who  was  confident  of  power  over  the  hidden 
beasts  of  his  inner  self,  except  by  the  might  of  Jesus. 
It  is  because  all  this  is  so  infrequently  said  that  we 
grow  so  bold  in  our  poise.  But  a  tiny  cross-section 
of  that  mute  conversation  which  takes  place  when 
you  talk  to  yourself,  will  send  the  proudest  of  you 
humbly  to  the  feet  of  that  Christ,  who  can  deliver 
you  from  that  body  of  death,  who  conquers  all  of 


70  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

life  when  it  is  yielded  to  him.     And  those  of  you     J 
who  have  loved  him  and  known  him  through  the     " 
long  years  may  love  him  more  truly  when  you  know 
what  beasts  he  fought  and  vanquished  in  your  sal- 
vation. 

I  kneel  not  now  to  pray  that  thou 

Make  white  one  single  sin, — 
I  only  kneel  to  thank  thee,  Lord, 

For  what  I  might  have  been. 

For  deeds  which  sprouted  in  my  heart 

But  ne'er  to  bloom  were  brought, 
For  monstrous  vices  which  I  slew 

In  the  shambles  of  my  thought. 

Dark  seeds  the  world  has  never  guessed 

By  hell  and  passion  bred. 
Which  never  grew  beyond  the  bud 

That  cankered  in  my  head. 

Some  said  I  was  a  righteous  man ! 

Poor  fools,  the  gallows-tree 
(If  thou  hadst  let  one  foot  to  sHp) 

Had  grown  a  limb   for  me. 

So  for  the  man  I  might  have  been 

My  heart  must  cease  to  mourn ; 
'Twere  best  to  praise  the  living  Lord 

For  monsters  never  born ; 

To  bend  the   spiritual  knee 

(Knowing  myself  within), 
And  thank  the  kind,  benignant  God 

For  what  I  have  not  been. 


i/ 


IV 

TAKE  YOUR  CHOICE 

Text:  Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are 
true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever 
things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  what- 
soever things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of 
good  report;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be 
any  praise,  think  on  these  things. — Philippians  4  :  8. 

I  watched  a  man  in  a  store  window  the  other 
day.  He  seemed  to  be  making  a  man.  He  took 
a  wax  head  from  one  shelf,  put  it  on  a  pair  of 
cloth-covered  shoulders,  fixed  these  shoulders  on 
the  top  of  a  wire-framed  body,  carefully  dressed 
the  form  in  a  well-pressed  new  suit,  buttoned  a 
clean  white  collar  around  the  neck,  tied  a  neat  four- 
in-hand  at  the  proper  place  and  smoothed  it  down, 
placed  a  becoming  hat  at  a  fetching  angle  on  the 
waiting  head,  put  two  new  shoes  under  the  trouser- 
legs  just  where  the  feet  should  be;  and  there  stood 
his  man,  as  complete  and  natural  as  if  he  had  just 
walked  into  that  store-window  a  few  moments  be- 
fore. He  did  not  look  at  all  as  if  he  had  been  made 
out  of  a  combination  of  unattractive  elements  gath- 
ered from  the  corners  of  the  store.  Indeed,  he 
looked  a  lot  better  than  the  men  who  like  me  were 
watching  while  he  was  built.     His  shoes  were  so 

71 


72  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

shiny,  his  clothes  so  well  pressed,  his  hands  so  clean, 
and  his  face  was  so  intelligent  and  friendly. 

I  watched  and  said  to  myself,  ''  What  fun  it 
would  be  to  make  a  friend  for  myself  as  easily  as 
that!"  Think  of  taking  just  what  things  you 
liked  best  from  everybody  you  ever  knew,  and  com- 
bining them  in  just  the  kind  of  a  friend  you  would 
most  like  to  have. 

What  would  you  select,  if  you  were  making  a 
friend  for  yourself  here  this  morning?  Faithful- 
ness, surely.  A  willingness  to  be  true,  whatever 
happened.  No  yellow  streak  of  cowardice  or  weak 
spirit.  But  instead  true  courage  and  strength  of 
will. 

Honesty,  surely.  For  you  would  not  want  a 
friend  who  would  say  one  thing  in  your  presence, 
and  the  opposite  thing  when  you  were  away.  Fair- 
ness. Good  sportsmanship.  The  willingness  to 
play  the  game  according  to  the  rules  without  taking 
an  unfair  advantage.  The  pluck  to  play  harder 
when  things  were  going  wrong  with  the  team.  The 
fine  spirit  of  team-work.  You  would  not  want  a 
friend  who  whined  and  would  not  play  just  because 
he  could  not  have  everything  his  own  way. 

A  clean  mind,  surely.  No  rambling  tongue  which 
prided  itself  on  shameful  words  and  dirty  stories. 
No  uncontrollable  temper  which  flashed  up  in 
storms  of  destruction.  No  foolish  boasting  or  brag- 
ging. No  selfishness  which  keeps  every  good  thing 
and  refuses  to  share. 

Kindliness  and  considerateness  to  older  people, 
surely.     No  flippant  freshness.     Courtesy  and  help- 


TAKE  YOUR  CHOICE  73 

fulness  to  all  in  trouble.  He  must  be  the  kind  of  a 
friend  who  would  help  an  old  lady  across  a  crowded 
street  without  showing  the  least  embarrassment. 
And  especially  must  he  know  how  to  treat  his 
father  and  his  mother,  so  that  they  will  feel  he 
truly  loves  and  honors  them. 

Why,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  can  almost  see  your 
friend,  as  you  have  been  making  him  before  my  eyes 
this  morning.  I  like  him,  too.  I  like  his  frank 
smile,  and  his  clear  steady  eyes.  I  like  his  mannerly 
quiet  voice  and  his  careful  speech. 

But  it  all  sounds  like  a  fairy  tale.  Can  we  really 
make  a  friend  in  that  easy  and  simple  way?  Yes, 
you  surely  can.  In  fact,  all  this  has  been  practise 
for  a  real  piece  of  friend-making  that  I  want  you  to 
do  for  me  before  we  leave  this  room. 

I  am  ready  to  ask  you  to  close  your  eyes,  and 
keep  them  closed  for  just  a  moment,  until  I  clap 
my  hands  three  times.  Now,  at  the  third  clap,  I 
want  you  to  begin  to  make,  out  of  the  things  which 
you  have  selected  as  material  fitted  to  the  purpose, 
your  own  best  friend. 

Oh,  yes,  you  can  do  it.  Indeed,  you  must  do  it, 
whether  you  want  to  or  not.  For  your  best  friend 
is  nobody  else  but  yourself.  You  must  live  with 
yourself  all  your  life  long.  Never  a  day  but  this 
friend  is  with  you.  Never  a  night  without  him. 
And  you  have  a  chance  today  to  begin  to  make 
this  closest  friend  of  yours  exactly  the  kind  of  a 
friend  you  want  him  to  be.  Y^ou  may  begin  right 
now  to  make  him  to  order. 

This  is  what   Paul  meant  when  he  wrote  the 


74  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

words  which  we  read  a  few  moments  ago  as  our 
text.  It  seemed  like  a  long,  long  sentence.  But 
what  he  meant  can  be  told  very  simply.  If  you 
see  anything  in  anybody's  life  that  you  would  wish 
could  be  in  the  life  of  your  best  friend,  just  take 
it  for  yourself  and  make  it  over  into  a  part  of  you. 
If  you  see  a  boy  who  plays  the  game  fairly,  and 
you  admire  that  kind  of  a  friend,  make  that  good 
sportsmanship  a  part  of  your  own  best  friend,  your- 
self. If  you  like  dependable  honesty  when  you  see 
it  in  some  one  else,  you  must  realize  that  you  must 
train  yourself  to  be  true  to  yourself.  For  the  most 
disappointing  thing  in  all  the  world  is  to  wake 
up  some  day  and  find  that  you  cannot  trust  your- 
self, that  you  cannot  believe  what  you  yourself  are 
saying.  When  your  closest  friend  goes  back  on 
you,  you  may  well  be  discouraged.  And  your  clos- 
est friend  is  yourself. 

So  take  your  choice  of  things  you  would  like  in 
your  friend.  Then  build  those  things  patiently, 
one  by  one,  into  your  life.  Some  day,  you  will 
find  that  you  have  succeeded  in  making  a  friend  of 
whom  you  can  be  proud,  for  whom  you  need  never 
apologize,  on  whom  you  can  depend  with  all  your 
confidence — yourself.  'And  not  the  least  part  of 
your  pride  will  come  from  the  fact  that  you  have 
made  this  friend  of  yours,  for  yourself. 

I  have  to  live  with  myself  and  so 
I  want  to  be  fit  for  myself  to  know. 
I  want  to  be  able  as  days  go  by 
Always  to  look  myself  straight  in  the  eye. 
I  don't  want  to  stand  with  the  setting  sun 
And  hate  myself  for  the  things  I  have  done. 


TAKE  YOUR  CHOICE  75 


I  don't  want  to  keep  on  a  closet  shelf 

A  lot  of  secrets  about  myself, 

And  fool  myself  as  I  come  and  go 

Into  thinking  that  nobody  else  will  know 

The  kind  of  a  man  I  really  am. 

I  don't  want  to  dress  myself  up  in  sham. 

I  never  can  hide  myself  from  me; 
I  see  what  others  can  never  see. 
I  know  what  others  can  never  know. 
I  have  to  live  with  myself  and  so 
Whatever  happens,  I  want  to  be 
Self-respecting  and  conscience  f  ree.  ^ 

1  "  Myself,"  by  Edgar  A.  Guest. 


V 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  AND  THE  TONE 
OF  VOICE 

Text :  And  he  said  unto  them,  "  The  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath." — 
Mark  2  :  27. 

The  dining-room  of  a  well-furnished  home.  A 
stout,  neatly  dressed  business  man  is  seated  at  the 
table,  sorting  and  reading  his  morning  mail.  A 
show  of  unusual  interest.  A  knife-blade  quickly 
slits  the  envelope. 

"  H'm,  something  from  the  boy,  eh  ?  "  He  reads, 
brows  knit.  Then  goes  back  to  the  beginning  of  the 
page  and  reads  aloud,  gruffly,  with  eloquently  an- 
tagonistic emphasis: 

Dear  folks  : 

I  find  I  must  have  some  more  money  before  Saturday  if  I 
am  to  pay  up  and  start  the  new  term  clear.  I  had  hoped  to 
get  along  without  asking  you  for  more,  and  I  have  tried 
as  hard  as  I  could  to  stretch  what  I  had,  but  it  did  not  work. 
Please  send  me  $25  by  return  mail. 

Your  loving  son, 

Jack. 

Every  word  read  with  a  whip-snap  of  scorn,  but  the 
climax  of  emphasis  on  the  final  helpless  words.  You 
can  tell  bv  the  father's  manner  that  this  has  been 
76 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  77 

one  of  the  well-known  last  straws.     He  is  as  sym- 
pathetic as  he  would  be  to  a  highwayman. 

Enter  the  mother,  a  gentle,  sweet-faced  lady. 
Seats  herself  with  a  pleasant  word  of  greeting,  be- 
gins her  breakfast,  then  notices  the  letter  and  picks 
it  up.  Takes  the  precious  epistle  tenderly  from  its 
envelope  and  begins  to  read,  first  silently,  with  a 
glad  smile  on  her  lips  and  in  her  eyes.  Then  aloud, 
every  word  beautiful  with  the  lovely  garment  of 
mother-love : 

Dear  folks  : 

I  find  I  must  have  some  more  money  before  Saturday  if  I 
am  to  pay  up  and  start  the  new  term  clear.  I  had  hoped  to 
get  along  without  asking  you  for  more,  and  I  have  tried  as 
hard  as  I  could  to  stretch  what  I  had,  but  it  did  not  work. 
Please  send  me  $25  by  return  mail. 

Your  loving  son. 

Jack. 

Every  word  read  with  the  tenderness  of  sympathy, 
but  the  finest  tones  of  adoring  motherhood  saved 
for  the  last  words.    "  Poor,  dear  boy,"  she  sighs. 

Father  glances  up  from  his  paper,  wipes  a  threat- 
ened tear  from  his  eye,  and  says  humbly,  "Let's 
see,  how  much  was  it  he  wanted?  " 

So  much,  you  see,  depends  upon  the  tone  of  voice. 

I  think  the  Holy  Sabbath  has  suffered  from  a 
tone  of  voice.  Since  the  dawn  of  recorded  religious 
history,  there  have  been  two  schools  of  thought 
about  the  sacred  day.  The  first  is  represented  best 
by  that  stern  word  "laws."  For  the  laws  had  an 
obvious  duty  toward  a  sacred  day.  If  one  day  in 
seven  is  to  be  considered  holy,  it  becomes  necessary 


78  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

j  for  the  laws  to  state  plainly  the  list  of  things 
Vwhich  must  not  be  done  on  the  Sabbath.  There 
are  unrighteous  deeds  which  would  mar  the  day, 
there  are  boisterous  exercises  which  would  interfere 
with  those  who  had  the  right  to  all  the  holiness 
which  they  could  get  out  of  the  Sabbath.  So  the 
laws  must  present  a  code  of  correct  and  incorrect 
behavior  for  all  who  live  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Sabbath.  Men  must  be  taught  that  the  preservation 
of  sacredness  depends  upon  a  certain  will  to  con- 
formity. They  cannot  be  allowed  to  do  their  own 
sweet  will,  lest  that  will  should  menace  the  Sab- 
bath. And  these  laws  must  be  kept  strictly  up  to 
date,  for  each  new  generation  will  be  tempted  to 
engage  in  the  unholy  sport  of  discovering  its  own 
new  way  to  circumvent  the  existing  conventions  of 
behavior.  So  unless  holy  men  who  respect  the  tra- 
ditions will  consecrate  themselves  to  the  task  of 
guarding  the  integrity  of  the  laws,  the  Sabbath  will 
be  despoiled.  Men  must  be  appointed  to  keep  pace 
with  each  new  device  of  deviltry  and  check  it  by  a 
new  prohibition.  The  ingenuity  of  the  evaders  must 
be  matched  by  an  ingenuity  of  law,  which  will  keep 
careless  ones  in  a  sacred  mood  on  a  sacred  day 
whether  they  want  to  be  or  not. 

Hence  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  with  their  care- 
ful codes  and  their  merciless  traditions.  Hence  the 
care-free  boasting  cleverness  of  Sabbath  violations 
which  came  within  the  letter  of  the  law.  Hence  a 
new  law  which  should  prohibit  the  newly  discovered 
type  of  violation.  Hence  the  interlined,  and  cor- 
rected and  recorrected,  but  never  embarrassed,  laws 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  79 


of  the  Sabbath.  And  hence  the  spirit  of  the  Bhie 
Laws,  which  continue  to  assert  in  the  tradition  of 
the  Torah  that  if  a  day  is  sacred  there  are  certain 
things  no  man  can  do,  and  there  are  certain  pen- 
ahies  definitely  affixed  if  he  does  them. 

I  have  heard  people  tell  of  modern  homes  which 
represent  the  law  side  of  the  Sabbath.  The  seventh 
day  is  a  sort  of  front  parlor,  shadowy  and  un- 
comfortable, entered  only  when  you  are  in  your  best 
clothes  and  absolutely  subdued  in  mood.  No  play- 
ing on  that  day.  No  reading  interesting  stories 
on  that  day.  No  friends  in  on  that  day.  But 
church,  and  Sunday  school,  and  after  that  some 
pages  in  the  Bible  if  your  young  hearts  shall  so  de- 
sire, until  bedtime  ends  the  dreariness. 

In  other  words  the  law  has  made  the  Holy  Day 
a  day  of  negation.  It  has  become  a  time  of  limita- 
tion and  of  extreme  care  lest  those  limitations  be 
overstepped.  Sunday  has  become  a  day  of  "  less  " 
rather  than  "  more " ;  of  restriction  rather  than 
liberty;  of  self -discipline  rather  than  self-expres- 
sion. And  down  through  the  ages  this  tradition  has 
persisted. 

On  the  other  hand,  and  down  through  those  same 
ages,  there  has  survived  a  Sabbath  of  privilege  and 
joy.  The  prophets  are  for  the  most  part  in  this 
tradition.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  tone  of  voice,  for 
the  duties  they  observed  were  exactly  the  duties 
which  bound  the  highest  legalists,  but  they  called 
them  opportunities  instead  of  duties.  You  may 
catch  an  echo  of  the  division  in  some  of  the  songs 
of  the  church.     For  this  second  point  of  view  is 


80  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

characteristic  of  the  singers.     *'  Welcome,  delight- 
ful morn," 

Hail !  sacred  day  of  earthly  rest, 

From  toil  and  trouble  free ; 
Hail !  day  of  light  that  bringest  light, 

And  joy  to  me, 

"  O  day  of  rest  and  gladness,"  and 

The  dawn  of  God's  dear  Sabbath  breaks  o'er  the  earth  again. 
As  some  sweet  summer  morning  after  a  night  of  pain, 

all  represent  a  mood  which  the  laws  could  not  cre- 
ate in  a  man  whose  free  spirit  had  been  restricted. 
These  hymn-writers  were  lovers  of  the  day.  They 
were  not  oppressed  by  the  sense  of  ceremonial  obli- 
gation. The  Sabbath  was  not  an  occasion  of  nega- 
tion and  hindrance.  It  was  a  precious  park  of  privi- 
lege and  joy,  protected  from  interrupting  intrusions 
/  by  the  kind  wisdom  of  a  providing  God. 

The  two  strains  of  influence  are  apparent.  But 
it  is  somewhat  surprising  to  find  where  Jesus  stands 
in  these  traditions.  In  his  name  the  Sabbath  laws 
are  promulgated.  Yet  he  took  his  place  uncom- 
promisingly with  the  singing  prophets  of  privilege 
and  opportunity.  His  first  serious  conflict  with 
the  pious  souls  of  his  day  was  concerned  with 
the  observation  of  the  Sabbath.  And  Christ  was  the 
accused,  the  religious  leaders  were  the  accusers,  the 
charge  was  Sabbath-breaking.  Out  of  such  a  situ- 
ation he  uttered  the  oft-quoted  but  still  startling 
words  of  our  text,  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath." 

I  look  back  upon  my  own  home  and  recognize 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  81 


it  as  a  place  where  Sunday  was  as  attractive  as  it 
could  be.    The  program  began  with  a  note  of  pecu- 
liar privilege.     Ordinarily,  we  four  boys  were  not 
invited  to  share  in  the  family  coffee,  but  every  Sun- 
day morning  at  the  breakfast-table,  it  was  under- 
stood without  argument  that  we  were  to  have  our 
own  steaming  cups  of  that  luring  beverage.   Across 
the  years,  I  recall  those  doses  of  coffee  as  compara- 
tively innocuous  brews  of  very  pale  cambric  tea, 
colored  just  a  tinge  by  a  drop  or  two^  from  the 
urn,  and  sweetened  to  the  point  of  delight.     But 
the  unusual  liberty  of  the  performance  set  the  key- 
note for  Sunday.     On  ordinary  days,  each  boy  had 
one  piece  of  candy  after  breakfast,   from  a  box 
which  my  father  kept  in  his  desk  drawer.     But  on 
Sunday  mornings,  there  were  two  pieces  for  each 
boy,  and  the  box  was  a  new  one  freshly  opened  for 
this  momentous  and  hilarious  rite.     My  father  was 
a  busy  physician,  and  the  superintendent  of  our 
Sunday  school.     He  kept  his  Sundays  clear  of  all 
but  the  most  pressing  of  his  professional  obligations, 
and  very  seldom  made  a  call  during  the  day.     He 
was  not  the  victim  of  a  dour  Puritan  conscience,  nor 
the  oppressed  slave  under  a  tyrannous  system  of 
cruel  laws.    He  was  not  obliged  to  refuse  calls  on 
Sunday.    But  he  COULD.    And  he  did.    The  first 
day  of  the  week  was  a  long  expanse  of  quiet  and 
rest  for  him,  and  I  think  he  was  a  better  physician 
because  Sunday  was  God's  gift  of  rest  to  him. 
Certain  I  am  that  the  business  he  lost  through  the 
impatience  of  silly  neurotics  did  not  figure  as  an 
issue  with  him.     After  dinner  and  Sunday  school. 


82  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

he  would  gather  his  four  boys  on  the  various  peaks 
and  table-lands  of  a  big  Morris  chair,  and  would 
read  to  them  from  huge  and  entrancing  picture 
books — which  London  publishers  once  issued  annu- 
ally, designed  for  just  such  uses  on  "  Sundays  at 
Home."  There  is  a  halo  of  happiness  about  my 
long-lost  Sundays  which  can  never  be  dispelled. 
r  Hence  I  can  feel  only  pity  for  those  deluded  indi- 
■  viduals  who  spend  time  wrangling  over  the  ques- 
tions of  Sabbath  observance.  Is  it  right  or  wrong 
for  me  to  read  the  Sunday  paper?  That  question 
never  occurs  to  me.  Sunday  is  the  one  day  when 
I  do  not  have  to  read  the  paper,  and  no  one  can 
force  me  into  it  against  my  wishes.  On  other  days, 
a  man  may  be  ashamed  of  himself  if  he  sallies  forth 
into  the  world  unequipped  with  the  news  of  the 
preceding  hours.  I  must  read  the  papers  on  six 
days  of  the  week.  But  I  can  be  free  of  their 
clamor  on  Sunday.  And  if  I  fear  to  miss  on  Sun- 
day some  vital  turn  of  the  news,  I  may,  and  do,  take 
a  Sunday  paper  which  is  mailed  to  me  and  which 
arrives  on  Monday  morning,  bearing  the  best  pos- 
sible introduction  to  another  week  of  news. 

Students  involve  themselves  in  heated  quibbles  as 
to  whether  or  not  they  sin  when  they  study  on  Sun- 
day. Most  of  them  do  the  studying  first  and  then 
quibble  over  whether  or  not  it  was  a  sin.  The  obvi- 
ous solution  to  the  problem  is  the  simple  statement 
of  the  unvarnished  truth  to  the  effect  that  Sunday 
is  the  one  day  in  the  week  on  which  no  one  can 
force  you  to  study.  I  care  not  who  is  the  profes- 
sor nor  what  the  difficulties  of  the  course,  if  you  do 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  83 


good  honest  work  through  six  days  in  the  week, 
there  will  be  no  disposition  to  insist  upon  study  on  /^ 
the  seventh  day.    It  is  the  one  day  protected  by  bar- 
riers which  you  did  not  need  to  erect,  and  no  intrud- 
ing study  can  invade  the  day  unless  you  open  the 
gates  and  let  it  in. 

The  person  who  takes  the  clear  territory  of  a  won- 
derful   Sunday   and   deliberately   cumbers   it   with 
the  sooty  baggage  of  every  day,  is  selling  a  splen- 
did birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage.    I  am  not  now 
arguing  with  those   luckless   individuals   who   are 
caught  in  the  meshes  of  our  industrial  order  and  are 
forced  to  work  on  seven  days  in  a  week  to  earn 
their  bread.    I  pity  them  and  shall  do  everything  in 
my  power  to  loose  them  from  their  shackles.   But  I 
have  no  pity  for  the  people  who  are  protected  from 
intrusions  by  the  laws  of  God  and  the  laws  of  the 
state,  as  well  as  by  the  social  customs  of  the  civili- 
zation in  which-  they  live,  and  who  deliberately  de- 
spoil the  peculiar. beauty  of  Sunday  by  an  insistence 
that  they  have  the  right  to  do  on  Sunday  anything 
which  they  want  to  do  on  any  other  day  and  nobody 
has  the  right  to  p-revent  them.    They  remind  me  of 
the  professor  who  is  granted  a  sabbatical  year  with 
full  pay  for  the  purposes  of  recreation  and  study 
abroad,  and  who  hangs  around  the  campus  all  year 
long,  teaching  his  accustomed  classes,  performing 
his  regular  duties,  and  loudly  asserting  that  his  per- 
sonal liberty  gives  him  the  right  to  work  if  he  wants 
to   and  that  no  one  can  prevent  him.      Or  that 
preacher  who  goes  away   in   the   summertime  to 
escape  the  pressure  of  a  constant  outflow,  and  has 


84  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

his  date-book  all  filled  out  with  supply-preaching 
engagements.  Of  course,  no  one  has  the  power  to 
prevent  him,  and  nothing  can  prevent  him,  save  his 
own  common  sense.  Sunday  is  a  gift,  made  for 
man.  Man  is  a  fool  if  he  transforms  it  into  a  chore, 
or  hurls  it  from  himself  in  shallow  disgust. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  every  moral  deci- 
sion made  under  the  influence  of  Jesus.  Here  is  a 
boy  who  is  lured  by  the  bright  lights  of  a  city's  life. 
He  may  erect  a  net  of  prohibitions  about  his  life 
at  the  forceful  insistence  of  a  mastering  parent.  He 
may  be  compelled  to  stay  at  home  by  rigidity  of 
discipline.  But  today  I  met  a  man  who  had  spent 
three  hundred  dollars  on  a  wireless  set,  and  his  boy 
could  not  be  driven  away  when  the  messages  began 
to  come  in  from  the  broad-casting  stations.  Home 
is  no  barren  place  of  limitations  for  that  boy. 
Home  is  a  glorious  adventure. 

The  church  finds  its  halls  empty  while  its  people 
go  thronging  to  the  near-by  moving-picture  houses. 
Immediately  there  is  a  hue  and  cry  for  passing  a 
law  which  will  shut  those  places  up  on  Sunday. 
Why  not  exhaust  some  of  our  energies  in  learning 
the  lessons  which  thronged  movie  palaces  can  teach 
the  church?  The  church  must  make  itself  literally 
more  attractive  than  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil,  or  it  will  deserve  its  gloomy  emptiness. 
-^  There  is  only  one  recourse  left  to  the  man  who 
loves  the  Sabbath.  He  cannot  force  others  to  share 
his  love  by  passing  laws  insisting  that  there  should 
be  no  opportunity  to  enjoy  anything  except  his  kind 
of  joy.     He  must  live  his  joy  so  really  and  so  viv- 


THE  HOLY  SABBATH  85 


idly,  that  the  tinseled  glamors  of  other  happiness 
may  be  ashamed  before  his  perfect  glee,  and  men 
who  are  seeking  for  soul  satisfaction  will  come  hun- 
gering to  him  who  has  found  it.  Meanwhile  he 
will  not  libel  the  shrine  of  his  delight  by  the  strident 
confidence  of  prohibitory  whining,  and  the  long- 
faced  holiness  of  the  guardianship  of  the  law. 

Fulness  of  life,  said  Jesus.     The  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man. 


VI 

HOW  TO  MAKE  A  PEARL 

Text:  And  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  mea- 
sure through  the  abundance  of  the  revelations,  there 
was  given  to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger 
of  Satan  to  buffet  me,  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above 
measure.  For  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice, 
that  it  might  depart  from  me.  And  he  said  unto 
me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee :  for  my  strength 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly  therefore 
will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power 
of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me. — 2  Corinthians  12  :  7-9. 

Here  are  two  chapters  of  an  interesting  and  sig- 
nificant biography. 

The  blue  waters  of  a  summer  sea  are  ruffled  by 
a  gentle  breeze.  Sunshine  paints  the  scene  with 
liquid,  dancing  gold.  Far  underneath  the  glitter- 
ing wavelets,  an  oyster  is  basking  in  the  glorious 
warmth.  On  the  silent  current  which  envelops  him, 
a  tiny  grain  of  gleaming  sand  is  borne  along,  and 
is  caught  in  the  open  shell.  It  settles  into  a  smooth 
recess,  and  the  current  which  has  borne  it  passes 
on.  The  day  goes,  and  the  night  comes.  In  the  still- 
ness of  his  habitation,  a  sensation  of  discomfort 
penetrates  the  dull  perceptions  of  our  bivalve. 
Something  has  entered  his  life  which  annoys.  There 
86 


HOW  TO  MAKE  A  PEARL  87 

are  sharp  edges  which  make  the  intruding  sand  a 
point  of  pain.  Whatever  muscular  contractions  and 
expansions  are  possible,  ens-ue  at  the  behest  of  this 
limited  organism  whose  life  has  been  made  miser- 
able. If  the  sand  goes  floating  out  and  away,  there 
is  no  more  worry.  But  what  if  all  the  efforts  to 
better  his  surroundings  are  in  vain?  What  if  the 
legitimate  desire  for  improvement  finds  no  satis- 
factory outlet  in  action?  What  if  the  sand  persists 
in  staying  where  it  is?  The  oyster,  wise  far  be- 
yond his  generation,  wastes  no  time  in  hot  gestures 
of  mad  hate  against  his  Creator,  does  not  cherish  his 
enforced  limitation  as  a  perfect  God-given  excuse 
for  an  unsuccessful  life,  does  not  settle  down  into 
complaining  irritation  and  futility.  The  oyster  pro- 
ceeds to  manufacture  an  exudation  of  gummy  sub- 
stance, which  it  spins  out  around  the  annoying 
neighbor.  And  the  sharp  points  of  the  intruder, 
are  foiled  by  the  protective  covering  which  the 
oyster  himself  provides. 

The  inviting  vistas  of  a  jewelry  store  are  busy 
with  patrons.  A  couple  of  young  people,  happy  in 
the  ecstacy  of  new  love,  are  bending  over  a  show- 
case. She  is  slipping  a  circlet  of  gold  over  her 
finger  and  is  watching  the  translucent  beauty  of  a 
pearl.  He  is  laughing  and  listening.  "  Pearls,"  she 
is  saying,  "  are  the  loveliest  things  in  the  world !  " 
She  is  right.  Does  she  know,  I  wonder,  what  makes 
the  beauty  of  the  pearl?  Has  she  sensed  the  first 
chapter  of  this  biography?  The  pearl  liad  its  birth 
in  the  agony  of  those  summer  seas.  A  pearl  is  a 
garment  of  patience  which  encloses  an  annoyance. 


88  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

Christians,  take  a  lesson  from  the  oyster.  There 
are  two  ways  of  dealing  with  an  annoyance.  You 
may  fret  and  worry  about  it.  You  may  allow  the 
pain  of  it  to  penetrate  your  soul  and  sour  you. 
You  may  struggle  in  frantic  and  exhausting  efforts 
to  remove  it,  and  find  your  failure  translated  into 
self-pity  and  resentment.  You  may  suffer  your  life 
to  be  limited  by  its  coming,  and  then  point  to  the 
annoyance  as  the  reason  for  your  poor  failure. 

Or  you  may  make  a  pearl. 

Oysters  might  fairly  resent  outside  advice  which 
urged  them  deliberately  to  invite  stray  grains  of 
sand  for  the  discipline  of  the  annoyance.  Oysters 
deserve  every  encouragement  as  they  struggle  to 
exclude  by  all  possible  gestures  of  despair  the  annoy- 
ance when  it  comes.  But  once  its  presence  has 
become  an  established  fact,  once  the  grain  of  sand 
has  taken  up  its  fixed  residence  beyond  the  power 
of  the  oyster  to  escape,  then  there  is  only  one  philo- 
sophical attitude  which  any  reasonable  oyster  can 
take.  He  must  give  over  the  luxury  of  complaining. 
He  must  bend  his  every  effort  toward  the  comple- 
tion of  a  pearl. 

And  thus  it  is  with  Christians.  The  centuries 
have  witnessed  too  many  futile  attempts  to  disci- 
pline life  by  artificially  gathering  penances  and 
pains.  And  there  have  been  other  hundreds  of  weak 
souls,  who  when  confronted  with  the  annoying  pos- 
sibilities of  an  unwelcome  intruder,  have  solemnly 
surrendered  themselves  without  a  struggle  to  their 
bitter  fate.  But  we  are  now  dealing  with  a  problem 
which  assumes  the  proper  responses  during  these 


HOW  TO  MAKE  A  PEARL  89 

preliminary  stages  of  reaction.  We  are  assuming 
that  the  trouble  was  given  every  inducement  to 
pass  us  by.  We  are  assuming  that  when  it  showed 
a  disposition  to  enter,  we  used  every  legitimate  de- 
vice to  show  that  it  would  receive  no  mercy  from 
us.  We  have  fought  it  off  as  skilfully  as  we  could. 
We  have  besought  the  Lord  at  least  thrice  that  it 
be  taken  from  us.  And  it  is  still  here.  Now  what 
shall  we  do  with  it  ? 

Make  a  pearl,  Christians! 

This  course  of  action  would  justify  itself  if  only 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  the  only  way  to  gain  any- 
thing like  comfort.  If  it  does  not  become  a  pearl, 
this  grating  annoyance  must  remain  an  annoyance, 
and  the  years  bring  no  comforting  callousness. 
Merely  as  a  matter  of  individual  self -protection,  a 
pearl  of  patience  is  the  only  thing. 

But  on  this  point  we  touch  ever  so  lightly,  leav- 
ing it  at  once  for  the  more  profound  truth  which 
Paul  makes  so  real  to  us  in  our  text.  Apparently 
it  never  occurred  to  Paul  that  pearl-making  was  the 
only  possible  alternative  to  his  own  rankling  dis- 
comfort. He  saw  what  we  are  so  ready  to  over- 
look— that  pearl-making  becomes  a  testimony  to  the 
power  of  Jesus.  For  the  voice  which  Paul  heard 
denying  him  his  fervent  prayer  for  relief  was  a 
voice  which  ended  by  saying,  ^'  My  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness."  An  unannoyed  Christian  can- 
not perfectly  show  forth  the  might  of  Christ.  The 
white  light  of  Jesus  becomes  visible  to  human  eyes 
only  as  it  is  diffused  by  the  spectrum  of  encum- 
bered lives.    Your  religion  is  tested  and  commended 

G 


90  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

in  the  eyes  of  men  only  when  they  observe  it  tri- 
umphing over  difficulties.  Most  gladly  therefore 
will  I  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of 
Christ  may  rest  on  me.  The  only  eloquent  lives,  in 
testimony  for  Christ,  are  the  lives  which  speak 
of  him  amid  sobs  of  anguish,  the  only  lives  which 
exhibit  his  beauty  are  the  pearl-encircled  lives, 
made  radiant  by  the  records  of  past  troubles. 

It  is  the  hard  battle  which  tests  the  regiment, 
not  the  easy  one.  The  big  game  of  the  season  is 
a  big  game  only  because  it  presents  altogether  un- 
usual difficulties  for  the  home  team.  It  is  the  bro- 
ken sinner  that  proves  the  redemption  of  Jesus. 
And  the  greater  the  trouble  which  vexes  your 
soul,  the  surer  your  testimony  to  the  glory  of  your 
Saviour.    Make  pearls  of  your  troubles,  Christians. 

For  we  might  as  well  accept  the  humbling  fact 
that  we  cannot  effectively  talk  of  our  faith  except 
to  those  whose  conflicts  we  have  shared.  The  vo- 
cabulary with  which  we  clothe  our  belief  is  limited 
in  its  exchange  to  those  who  have  learned  the  same 
phrases  in  the  same  travail  of  spirit.  One  cannot 
stand  upon  a  pedestal  and  pointing  with  raised 
forefinger,  say,  "  Go  to  Jesus."  The  injunction 
which  should  rise  from  Christian  lips  is  "  Come  to 
Jesus."  And  the  words  are  futile  unless  we  have 
traveled  the  same  way.  Billy  Sunday  makes  Christ 
real  to  the  sodden  bum  because  he  saw  Christ  once 
through  the  blear  eyes  of  a  defeated  drifter.  And 
no  man  has  a  right  to  deplore  such  preaching  until 
he  can  move  bums  in  the  same  effective  way  by  a 
more   sophisticated   appeal.      Every  limitation   be- 


HOW  TO  MAKE  A  PEARL  91 

comes  an  open  roadway  into  the  hearts  of  those  who 
have  feh  the  same  limitation. 

Sir  Arthur  Pearson  is  stricken  blind  at  the  height 
of  an  amazing  career  of  usefulness.  There  must 
have  been  moments  of  bitter  unwillingness  in  his 
soul.  He  must  have  prayed  that  the  cup  pass  from 
his  lips.  But  the  oncoming  days  brought  him  quiet 
of  mind,  and  he  found  that  his  blindness  might  be 
a  key  to  a  hitherto  forbidden  portal  of  usefulness. 
He  could  minister  as  no  seeing  man  ever  could  to 
the  needs  of  England's  blind.  When  the  war  began 
to  pour  back  upon  Britain  the  pitiful  flood  of  sight- 
less soldiers,  Sir  Arthur  Pearson  took  them  under 
his  care,  showed  them  that  life  was  not  irrevocably 
spoiled  by  loss  of  sight,  and  taught  them  the  tech- 
nique of  successful  living  under  the  hitherto  crip- 
pling handicap.  He  had  made  a  pearl  out  of  his 
blindness. 

J.  M.  Barrie's  beautiful  tribute  to  his  mother  is 
replete  with  instances  of  similar  triumphs.  His  first 
chapter  is  called  ''  How  My  Mother  Got  Her  Soft 
Face."  He  tells  the  story  of  the  death  of  her 
first-born  son.  When  the  terror  of  that  dark  day 
has  penetrated  our  souls,  Barrie  says, 

That  is  how  she  got  her  soft  face  and  her  pathetic  ways 
and  her  large  charity,  and  why  other  mothers  ran  to  her 
when  they  had  lost  a  child.  "  Dinna  greet,  poor  Janet,"  she 
would  say  to  them,  and  they  would  answer,  "Ah,  Margaret, 
but  you're  greeting  yoursel'." 

She  had  made  a  pearl  of  her  grief,  and  other  moth- 
ers came  to  her  when  they  had  lost  a  child. 

It  was  a  terrifying  crisis  which  made  Lincoln 


92  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

president.  He  came  to  Cooper  Union  with  a  manu- 
script speech,  copies  of  which  had  been  circulated 
to  the  newspapers  in  advance  of  his  appearance.  He 
began  to  read  carefully  and  precisely  what  he  had 
written.  The  great  crowd  grew  restless.  Voices 
from  the  back  of  the  hall  shouted,  "  Louder ! 
Louder!"  The  situation  was  becoming  a  farce. 
Then  in  his  nervousness,  he  dropped  one  of  the 
manuscript  sheets.  It  fluttered  from  the  platform 
beyond  his  reach.  Panic-stricken  for  a  moment  at 
the  unbelievable  disaster,  he  looked  out  over  the 
crowd,  tossed  aside  the  remaining  sheets  of  his 
address,  smiled,  swung  out  his  long  arms  in  the 
first  free  gesture  of  the  evening,  and  let  himself  go, 
while  the  audience  was  melted  into  a  shouting  mass 
of  enthusiastic  approval.  He  had  not  only  told 
them  what  he  thought  about  politics.  He  had 
proved  to  them  that  he  knew  how  to  make  a  pearl. 
And  the  way  he  met  the  crisis  spread  as  fast  as  the 
sober  statesmanship  of  his  speech. 

Christians,  we  shall  not  examine  your  own 
troubles  and  annoyances.  You  know  them  too  well 
already.  But  whatever  they  are  today,  and  what- 
ever they  seem  to  be  tomorrow,  there  is  but  one  way 
of  dealing  with  them.  Fight  them  off  with  all  your 
might.  Beseech  God  thrice  that  they  depart.  Then 
if  they  stay,  garb  them  with  the  beauty  of  patience, 
and  thank  God  for  the  chance  to  make  a  pearl. 


VII 

WHY  I  AM  A  CHRISTIAN 

Text :  And  he  saith  unto  them,  "  But  who  say  ye 
that  I  am?  "  And  Peter  answereth  and  sayeth  unto 
him,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ."— Mark  8  :  29. 

I  was  once  converted.     Years  ago,  in  the  midst 
of  the  thronging  experiences  of  boyhood,  Jesus  my 
Saviour  came  to  me.     My  fears  were  banished,  my 
best  hopes  were  confirmed,  my  cowardice  left  me, 
my  intimations  of  courage  grew,  the  world  left  off 
its  somber  aspect  of  fearfulness  which  it  had  worn, 
conflicting  motives  and  hesitations  became  resolved 
in  the  unity  of  a  happy  trust,  my  sins  were  forgiven, 
and  I  came  to  realize  the  unspeakable  joy  of  that 
forgiveness;  best  of  all,  I  found  in  Jesus  that  hero, 
that  comrade,  the  inspirer  and  helper,  the  need  of 
every  boy.     I  cannot  banish  from  my  mind  the 
memory  of  the  night  on  which  I  confessed  him  by 
baptism.     The  symbol  was  made  so  vivid  for  me, 
the  rite  was  such  a  natural  expression,  and  when  the 
service  was  completed  and  the  sermon  had  been 
preached,  and  I  had  returned  to  the  church  audi- 
torium, clothed  again,  looking  like  the  same  boy,  I 
suppose,  but  ever  so  different  in  the  reality  of  my 
experience,  I  stood  near  a  little  reed-organ,  and  held 
on  to  the  rococo  wood  scrolling  which  passed  for 
decoration,  and  in  the  ecstasy  of  my  unexpected 

93 


94  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

joy,  I  lifted  my  quavering  boyish  soprano  voice  and 
sang  as  naturally  as  ever  bird  sings,  "  Children,  give 
your  hearts  to  Jesus,  in  the  happy  days  of  youth!  " 
But  I  am  a  Christian  now  not  merely  because  I  was 
once  converted. 

I  joined  the  church  once.  The  scenes  are  as  real 
to  me  as  if  they  had  taken  place  but  yesterday.  A 
solemn  meeting  of  a  board  of  deacons  stands  out 
in  my  memory  largely  as  an  aggregation  of  stiff 
starched  shirts,  for  I  had  never  seen  so  many 
"  boiled  bosom-fronts "  in  any  one  place  before. 
In  all  that  group  of  friendly  but  not  overencourag- 
ing  examiners,  the  one  point  of  relief  and  confidence 
was  the  presence  of  my  father,  who  was  deacon  as 
well  as  father,  and  hence  was  eligible  to  come  to  my 
aid.  He  it  was  who  parried  theological  questions 
for  me,  it  was  his  jolly  chuckle  which  broke  the 
stillness  of  my  embarrassment  and  made  me  feel  at 
home.  I  answered  as  best  I  could,  but  I  recall  that 
my  mind  was  impatient  to  be  done  with  this  pre- 
liminary, for  I  wanted  to  join  the  church.  I  wanted 
to  become  a  part  of  the  enterprise  which  had  ac- 
quainted me  with  Jesus.  I  wanted  to  share  in  the 
plans  and  purposes  of  this  group  which  had 
absorbed  so  much  of  my  parents'  lives.  This  was 
a  wish  entirely  aside  from  my  wash  to  confess 
Christ.  There  were  two  distinct  transactions 
for  me. 

And  if  I  had  not  joined  the  church  just  then,  I 
am  sure  I  should  want  to  join  now.  For  I  cannot 
imagine  myself  living  in  a  city  without  churches. 
I  love  to  see  children  flocking  happily  to  Sunday 


WHY  I  AM  A  CHRISTIAN  95 

school.  I  watch  with  joy  those  glad  processions 
of  eager  worshipers  go  thronging  to  the  open  doors 
which  lead  to  sanctuaries.  I  myself  anticipate  the 
absorption  of  the  nourishment  which  the  church  pro- 
vides each  week  for  my  own  soul.  And  I  know 
that  the  things  for  which  I  stand  in  civic  and  moral 
life  are  the  things  for  which  the  church  is  battling, 
whether  I  am  a  part  of  the  church  or  not.  If  these 
reasons  did  not  satisfy  me,  I  should  still  be  eager 
to  join  the  church  for  the  sheer  benefits  which  the 
church  would  bring  to  me.  It  offers  me  the  fra- 
ternity of  people  w^hom  I  enjoy,  on  terms  of  utter 
democracy.  It  gives  me  entree  and  welcome  in 
every  city  to  which  my  journeys  take  me.  It  places 
me  at  once  in  the  heart  of  a  congenial  fellowship. 
And  whatever  my  business,  it  helps  my  business,  in 
so  far  as  my  business  is  a  legitimate  and  a  decent 
one.  But  I  was  not  then,  nor  would  I  be  now,  a 
Christian  because  I  want  to  join  the  church.  I  have 
not  dolefully  assumed  a  name  and  a  sign  for  the 
sake  of  the  institution  which  operates  in  that  name 
and  on  behalf  of  that  sign.  I  am  not  a  Christian 
for  the  purpose  of  church-membership. 

I  am  a  Christian  because  I  am  eager  to  express 
my  personal  loyalty  to  Jesus.  He  saved  me,  I  shall 
never  forget  that.  But  my  Christianity  is  no  un- 
willing loyalty  in  gratitude  for  a  past  accomplish- 
ment. I  love  the  church,  but  my  Christianity  is  no 
passport  into  a  comparatively  desirable  set.  I  am 
proud  of  my  faith,  for  it  is  only  another  way  of 
saying  that  Jesus  is  my  present  Master  and  my  alle- 
giance to  him  is  an  unfeigned  and  exultant  pledge. 


96 ''  PREACH  IT  AGAIN '' 

For  me,  he  has  shown  the  way  of  life.  All  that 
I  know  about  successful  living  I  owe  to  him.  The 
sense  of  exuberant  joy  which  was  mine  when  my 
boyish  heart  claimed  him  as  friend  was  but  the  be- 
ginning of  a  life  of  newly  revealed  masteries.  He 
knows  life.  He  knows  God.  He  knows  man. 
And  he  knows  all  three  so  surely  that  he  has  been 
able  to  say  the  secrets  of  life  and  of  God  in  terms 
intelligible  to  my  own  poor  mind.  What  can  I  do 
but  acknowledge  him!  Why  should  I  hesitate  to 
name  him !  I  love  the  Christ.  I  follow  in  his  way. 
I  learn  his  truth.  I  crave  his  power.  I  long  to 
make  him  real  to  others  who  have  not  found  him. 
I  am  a  Christian.    For  this  is  what  a  Christian  is. 

Propose  if  you  vv^ll  certain  doctrinal  tests  for 
Christians.  Insist  that  a  man  has  no  right  to  claim 
to  be  a  Christian  unless  he  can  recite  a  stipulated 
number  of  creedal  articles.  And  I  reply  that  creedal 
articles  without  this  present  allegiance  to  the  way  of 
Jesus,  are  utterly  futile.  Meanwhile  a  man  may 
never  have  heard  of  a  creed,  and  yet  be  possessed 
of  this  life-commitment  to  Christ's  way.  Erect 
church  barriers  if  you  will,  and  insist  that  Chris- 
tians will  all  be  found  within  the  enclosures  which 
you  have  marked  out.  And  I  shall  reply  by  show- 
ing you  non-Christians  inside  the  space,  and  hosts 
of  men  and  women  committed  to  his  way  outside 
the  sectarian  fences  which  you  have  erected. 

No  one  can  rob  me  of  those  colorful  memories, 
still  vivid  after  the  years,  memories  of  that  glory 
which  came  into  my  ken  when  I  saw  King  Jesus 
and   was   unafraid.     No   one  can   deprive   me   of 


WHY  I  AM  A  CHRISTIAN  97 


my  happy  comradeship  in  the  confines  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  But  I  am  a  Christian  because  I  am 
today  frank  and  happy  in  my  statement  of  loyalty  to 
him  and  to  the  things  which  he  has  taught. 

I  love  the  Christ  of  yesterday,  and  the  men  who 
proclaim  that  we  must  go  back  to  Jesus  find  no  un- 
favorable reaction  in  me.     Go  back  as  far  as  you 
will  to  him,  and  I  find  myself  loving  him.     Go  to 
the  Christ  of  the  Gospels,  and  meet  him  face  to  face. 
I  love  those  quiet  years  of  unpretentious  silence, 
with  the  other  boys  of  the  village,  and  with  the 
men  of  the  shop.     I  love  the  simple  months  when 
he  lived  so  naturally  that  his  neighbors  in  after 
years  could  ask  naively,  ''  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's 
son?"   in  those  incredulous  tones  which  ''home- 
towns "  have  used  since  the  beginning  of  time.     I 
love  those  forty  testing  days  of  temptation,  when 
he  looked  out  upon  all  the  possibilities  of  his  career 
and  fought  through  the  battles  in  anticipation,  van- 
quishing the  wild  beasts  of  the  spirit,  through  the 
help  of  the  angels  of  light.    I  love  those  full  months 
of  *'  doing  good,"  while  he  fearlessly  proclaimed 
the  amazing  truths  which  God  had  revealed  to  him. 
I  love  the  compacted  weeks  of  his  preparation  and 
suffering.     I  see  him  on  the  cross,  dying  that  his 
kingdom  of  truth  and  light  might  be  preserved 
without  compromise  or   failure  through  the  cen- 
turies until  today  and  tomorrow.     I  see  him  rally- 
ing his  scattered  ones  by  the  assurance  of  his  victory 
over  death  and  time.     The  fragrance  of  his  life 
escapes  in  the  foolishness  of  the  retelling.     But  I 
go  back  to  the  sacred  words  of  the  simple  narratives. 


98  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

and  find  him  there  again,  the  fairest,  friendliest 
figure  that  has  ever  crossed  the  minds  of  seeking 
men.  I  have  no  other  words  for  it.  I  love  him. 
There  may  be  other  heroes  and  other  comrades 
for  other  men.  But  for  me,  he  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God,  and  I  say  so  by  my  faith. 

I  love  him  in  the  yesterdays  of  history.  There 
have  been  ages  which  have  obscured  him.  Dread- 
ful things  of  darkness  and  hate  have  been  done  in 
his  name.  His  spirit  has  been  invoked  over  scenes 
of  cowardice  and  carnage.  But  wherever  his  figure 
stands  out  above  the  flames  and  smoke  of  men's 
jealousies  and  bitterness,  I  cannot  but  love  him. 
I  love  him  as  he  touches  Peter  with  the  forgiveness 
of  the  new  consecration.  I  love  him  as  he  wins 
Paul  and  makes  a  hero  out  of  a  bully.  I  love  him 
as  he  anoints  Luther  in  the  secret  places  of  per- 
sonal dedication.  I  love  him  as  he  places  the  coal 
of  fire  upon  the  humble  lips  of  Wesley.  I  love  him 
as  he  sends  Father  Damien  out  into  the  hell  of 
leper-agony.  I  love  him  as  he  reclaims  China  by 
the  graces  of  a  hundred  hidden  lives.  When  I  see 
him  in  the  yesterday,  my  heart  is  humbled,  and  my 
spirit  bows  unbidden,  as  before  my  King. 

I  love  him  in  the  plain  sight  of  today.  Even  here 
I  find  travesties  of  him  parading  his  name  and  his 
sign.  But  I  love  him  as  his  people  serve  him  in 
the  simplicity  of  their  helpfulness  when  need  calls. 
I  honor  him  when  I  hear  Hoover,  beset  by  a  hungry 
world,  turn  to  the  church  of  Jesus  as  the  only  re- 
sort. 

I  love  him  as  he  ministers  to  individual  seekers  all 


WHY  I  AM  A  CHRISTIAN  99 

around  me.  I  love  to  see  him  touch  souls  as  he 
touched  mine,  and  turn  all  their  blindness  into 
sight,  all  their  sighing  into  songs,  all  their  burdens 
into  wings,  all  their  tears  into  pearls  of  beauty. 
Here  comes  a  woman,  recently  confessing  him  in 
baptism,  now  leading  two  younger  women  into  the 
meeting  where  they  too  are  to  join  his  ranks.  There 
is  a  smile  of  heavenly  joy  on  her  face,  and  a  message 
of  heavenly  happiness  on  her  lips :  "  Oh,  I  cannot 
tell  you!  It  has  changed  my  whole  life.  My  home 
is  a  new  place !  "  Then  I  turn  to  the  Christ  and 
love  him  anew.  Here  comes  a  sturdy  business  man, 
who  has  attended  church  for  six  years,  and  last 
Sunday  confessed  Jesus  in  the  symbol  of  burial  to 
sin  and  resurrection  to  newness  of  life  in  the 
Saviour.  He  takes  my  hand  and  grips  it  firmly 
while  he  says,  "  I  want  you  to  know,  sir,  that  these 
days  have  been  the  happiest  days  of  all  my  life !  " 

Then  I  seem  to  see  Jesus,  the  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  Jesus  of  history,  the  Jesus  of  the  prosaic  today, 
the  Jesus  of  the  conquering  tomorrow.  There  is 
patience  and  joy  in  his  gentle,  brave  eyes,  and  I 
think  he  is  smiling  too  as  he  hears  me  say,  "  Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  son  of  the  living  God."  Lead 
on,  we  follow  Thee. 

If  Jesus  Christ  is  a  man, — 

And  only  a  man, — I  say 
That  of  all  mankind  I  cleave  to  Him, 

And  to  Him  will  I  cleave  alway. 

If  Jesus  Christ  is  a  God, — 

And  the  only  God,— I  swear 
I  will  follow  Him  through  heaven  and  hell. 

The  earth,  the  sea,  and  the  air. 


VIII 

A  PREACHER  UNASHAMED 

Text :  "  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ."— Romans  1  :  16. 

We  live  in  a  world  which  seems  to  be  engaged  in 
a  gigantic  conspiracy  to  make  a  preacher  feel 
ashamed.  The  crux  of  the  matter  of  scarcity  in 
prophet-material  may  be  located  at  this  exact  spot. 
The  movies  never  place  a  preacher  on  the  screen 
without  a  sneer,  unless  they  are  deliberately  cater- 
ing to  church  trade  and  do  not  dare  really  express 
themselves.  Cartoonists  choose  a  scathingly  pitiful 
type  when  they  are  forced  to  represent  the  senti- 
ment of  the  clergy.  Scandalously  low  salary  levels 
in  average  computations  place  the  calling  at  the  very 
bottom  of  the  list  in  the  eyes  of  men  who  see  sig- 
nificance in  money  returns.  Clergy-fare  books 
offering  a  fractional  fare  to  those  who  will  go 
through  the  indignities  involved,  not  only  in  apply- 
ing but  also  in  purchasing  and  presenting  tickets 
after  the  privilege  has  been  granted,  have  become  an 
absolute  necessity  for  thousands  of  preachers  if  they 
are  to  do  their  duty  without  pauperism  or  private 
fortune.  Discounts  offered  in  stores  which  are  con- 
scious of  beautiful  charity  and  have  a  right  to  all 
the  credit  they  can  get,  make  clergymen  feel  like 
dependents  upon  the  industrial  organism.  And 
100 


A  PREACHER  UNASHAMED  101 

when  a  young  man  of  any  particular  promise  threat- 
ens to  enter  the  ministry,  there  are  some  pious 
prayers  of  thanksgiving,  and  some  saintly  words  of 
encouragement,  but  the  people  of  affairs  on  whose 
word  he  relies  for  substantial  judgment  in  other 
realms  flood  him  with  commiseration  and  pity.  His 
college  class  is  aghast  at  the  pitiable  waste  of  possi- 
bilities. His  relatives  sacrifice  him  with  many  tears, 
as  if  he  were  entering  a  lions'  den.  The  highway 
into  the  ministry  is  hung  with  drooping  crepe  and 
echoes  with  the  lugubrious  strains  of  Chopin's 
"  Funeral  March." 

Perhaps  it  is  better  so.  Perhaps  unworthy  men, 
who  had  not  caught  the  significance  of  the  cross 
of  Jesus,  might  be  lured  mistakenly  down  the  road 
into  the  sacred  calling,  if  there  were  less  gloom 
spread  about  the  entrance.  And  that,  of  course, 
would  never  do.  We  need  heroes  in  the  ministry. 
And  we  have  succeeded  in  making  it  almost  forbid- 
ding enough  to  ensure  the  exclusion  of  anybody 
else.  Maybe  a  frank  confession  of  the  joy  which 
awaits  the  preacher  would  be  too  much  for  the  other 
professions,  which  must  have  men  from  some 
source,  and  would  be  utterly  distressed  if  the  min- 
istry took  all  the  promising  youths. 

But  the  tragedy  of  the  present  situation  is  re- 
vealed when  one  examines  what  happens  to  the 
ministers,  once  they  have  passed  the  mystic  gate 
which  excludes  all  but  heroes.  The  initiation  over, 
one  might  suppose  that  they  would  be  allowed  to 
see  things  fairly  and  enjoy  their  fate.  Not  so. 
They  are  hounded  by  their  humiliations.    They  are 


102  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

expected  to  dress  in  some  distinctive  garb  so  as  to 
make  possible  a  certain  lowering  of  the  voice  when 
they  appear.  They  are  set  off  in  a  corner,  as  if 
they  were  too  good  for  the  common  exchange  of 
men's  conversation,  but  in  reality  they  are  being 
put  to  bed  like  young  children,  when  the  adults 
really  get  down  to  business.  Is  it  any  w^onder  that 
after  the  years,  they  begin  to  show  the  tragic  droop 
of  the  shoulders  and  the  pulpit  smile  with  which 
the  cartoonists  have  endowed  them  ?  Is  it  any  won- 
that  they  become  somewhat  accustomed  to  an  un- 
protested compliance  with  the  conditions  of  banish- 
ment? The  world  has  its  way  with  them.  Pity 
has  its  just  fruition  in  pitiableness.  And  preachers 
grow  ashamed. 

Like  a  chill  breeze  from  a  snow-capped  mountain 
hurling  itself  into  the  sun-kissed  languor  of  a  Mexi- 
can noon,  comes  the  text  of  Paul,  "I  am  not 
ashamed !  "  It  wakes  us,  and  sends  cold  shivers 
down  our  torpid  spines,  and  gets  us  up  from  our 
siesta  of  humility  in  a  moment  of  rousing.  *'  I  am 
not  ashamed." 

It  was  defiance  hurled  at  pagan  Rome,  in  the  name 
of  the  Master  of  men.  But  modern  preachers  must 
take  it  upon  their  own  lips,  or  the  church  of  Jesus 
will  suffer  shame  and  defeat.  God  helping  me,  I 
shall  never  make  craven  apology  for  my  profession. 
Wall  Street  puts  rich  Rome  to  insignificance.  The 
might  of  modem  world-encircling  nations  can  make 
imperial  Rome  into  a  petty  province.  The  comforts 
and  ingenious  devices  of  a  Roman  neighborhood 
become  crudities  of  a  childish  blunder  when  com- 


A  PREACHER  UNASHAMED  103 


pared  with  the  necessities  of  a  modern  home.  And 
all  the  knowledge  of  Rome  seems  like  the  first  sen- 
tences of  a  child's  primer,  when  we  survey  the  con- 
tinents of  truth  which  men's  minds  have  explored 
since  then. 

Yet  I  can  utter,  fearlessly,  to  a  civilization  whose 
glory  dwarfs  the  boasts  of  Paul's  metropolis,  the 
defiance  of  his  own  lips,  "  I  am  not  ashamed."  Men 
tell  me  that  this  is  an  unprecedented  age  of  organ- 
ized contribution  to  the  treasure-house  of  general 
wealth.  They  say  that  no  man  has  a  right  to  sur- 
vive unless  he  can  produce.  They  say  that  the 
drones  in  the  hive  must  be  driven  out  by  the  slow 
process  of  economic  elimination,  and  they  look  at 
me  with  sinister  intent,  satisfied  in  their  own  minds 
as  they  see  ministers'  salaries  being  cut  to  the  starva- 
tion-point. But  I  defy  them.  Their  talk  sounds 
like  an  echo  from  wealth-cursed  Rome.  There  is 
no  man  who  works  harder  and  who  contributes 
more  to  the  wealth  of  the  world  than  the  intelli- 
gent and  enthusiastic  Christian  minister.  Give  us 
a  few  more  years,  and  the  pendulum  which  is  now 
unfair  toward  the  ministry  will  swing  the  other 
way.  It  is  even  now  on  the  downward  stroke  and 
a  new  generation  will  confirm  the  ministry  with 
economic  tribute  to  its  producing  and  conserving 
power.    Babson's  words  are  not  drivel. 

Before  the  magnificent  array  of  imperialistic  na- 
tional ambitions,  and  the  flaunting  beauty  of  maj- 
esty, I  preach  Jesus,  unashamed.  For  his  king- 
dom has  seen  the  boasts  of  other  empires  become 
empty  vaporings,  and  the  cities  of  ancient  monarchs 


104  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

become  heaps  of  dust.  Before  the  soft  comforts  of 
this  amazingly  ingenious  age,  I  preach  Jesus  un- 
ashamed, for  I  know  that  faith  in  him  has  made 
life  glorious  in  prison  cells  and  solitary  caves  of 
persecution;  and  that  men  who  tried  to  live  with- 
out him  have  had  their  transient  joys  turn  to  ashes 
at  their  tastes.  Before  a  world  wise  with  the  won- 
der of  science  and  discovery,  inquiring,  revealing, 
searching,  arranging,  labeling,  and  docketing,  I 
preach  Jesus  unashamed.  For  I  know  that  the 
knowledge  which  he  teaches  is  as  eternal  as  the  hills, 
as  necessary  as  bread  and  water  to  the  life  of  the 
soul,  fundamental  in  its  underlying  of  all  other 
truth,  and  ministering  to  the  whole  world  of  truth- 
seekers. 

But  best  of  all,  I  preach  Jesus  unashamed,  even 
when  1  hear  the  happy  achieving  boasts  of  men 
who  are  tasting  the  delights  of  other  work.  When 
men  grow  rich  around  me,  I  count  the  gold  of  souls 
won  to  him.  When  men  count  fame  as  their  por- 
tion, I  find  my  glory  in  the  oncoming  victory  of 
Jesus.  When  men  talk  to  me  of  the  thrill  of  inven- 
tion, I  bend  my  mind  to  the  translation  of  his  way 
into  word  and  life.  And  when  they  sing  of  joy,  I 
show  them  a  letter  which  came  to  me  yesterday,  a 
letter  from  a  traveling  man  who  w^andered  into  my 
church  with  a  companion,  both  of  them  strangers 
in  a  strange  city  last  Sunday.  They  sat  in  the  far 
corner  of  the  gallery  throughout  the  service,  and 
left  at  the  benediction,  to  walk  and  talk  through  the 
long  afternoon  about  the  substance  of  the  gospel 
which  they  had  heard  preached.     The  companion 


A  PREACHER  UNASHAMED  105 

had  been  strangely  impressed  with  the  claims  of 
Jesus,  and  told  of  his  frank  and  sudden  loyalty. 
Twenty-four  hours  later,  he  was  killed  in  a  railway 
accident,  rejoicing  that  the  few  moments  of  preach- 
ing had  solved  for  him  the  hitherto  inexplicable 
riddle  of  a  baffling  life. 

There  is  no  joy  to  compare  with  the  joy  of  the 
preacher.  Hear  it,  young  men,  from  honest  lips, 
made  eloquent  by  their  honest  joy.  I  preach  Christ, 
unashamed.  And  I  open  the  garlanded  gate,  into 
a  calling  that  touches  the  heights  of  happiness. 


H 


IX 

RELIGION  AT  TWENTY-ONE 

Text:  When  I  went  out  to  the  gate  through  the 
city,  when  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the  street,  the 
young  men  saw  me  and  hid  themselves. — Job  29  : 
7,  8. 

It  was  my  privilege  not  long  ago  to  spend  a  year 
in  the  midst  of  a  people  who  are  at  the  critical  cen- 
ter of  our  Christian  mission  problem.  I  went  to 
them  not  as  preacher  or  teacher,  but  as  a  native  of 
their  land.  For  a  whole  year  I  spoke  their  tongue, 
dressed  in  their  attire,  governed  myself  by  their 
customs,  in  fact,  was  one  of  them.  My  stay  with 
them  was  so  recent,  and  my  sympathy  for  them  is 
now  so  vivid  and  vital,  that  I  wish  to  make  a  frank 
report  of  my  findings  to  you.  For  you  are  inter- 
ested in  their  tribal  habits,  and  in  their  ultimate 
destiny. 

I  have  heard  travelers  tell  of  the  weird  procedures 
which  are  common-place  in  that  land.  I  have  heard 
colorful  descriptions  of  the  polyglot  language  which 
the  natives  use,  of  the  weird  music  which  stirs  their 
souls,  of  the  bizarre  and  fantastic  forms  of  dress 
which  are  flaunted  before  the  eyes  of  onlookers,  and 
of  the  grotesque  social  customs  which  affront  our 
more  cultured  civilization.  I  have  recognized  each 
106 


RELIGION  AT  TWENTY-ONE  107 

detail  of  description  as  real,  but  when  these  travel- 
ers have  gone  on  to  say  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
land  are  so  different  that  they  must  be  headed 
straight  for  destruction,  then  I  have  been  sure  that 
their  conclusions  were  the  results  of  hasty  visits. 
Perhaps  these  travelers  had  never  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  the  life  of  that  nation,  perhaps  they  had 
never  lived  in  the  confines  of  that  mysterious  land 
at  all,  or  if  they  had  lived  there  they  had  forgotten 
all  about  it.  And  a  quick  careless  glance  at  the  su- 
perficial surface  had  fooled  them  into  an  unfair  con- 
clusion. I  bring  you  cheer,  as  fellow  Christians. 
These  stubborn,  elusive,  difificult  people,  who  do 
not  speak  our  tongue  and  do  not  think  our  thoughts, 
may  yet  be  brought  under  the  sway  of  Jesus,  if  we 
are  careful  in  our  translating  and  patient  in  our 
teaching. 

The  land  to  which  I  refer  is  a  State  of  Mind. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Youth's  Courage,  and 
on  the  south  by  Youth's  Enthusiasm.  It  stretches 
on  the  west  toward  Youth's  Pioneering,  and  on  the 
east  toward  Youth's  Dreams.  It  is  the  country 
known  as  21.  However  far  any  of  you  may  be 
from  it  now,  most  of  you  have  lived  there  for  a 
little  while  once  upon  a  time. 

I  could  dwell  on  many  phases  of  its  life.  I  might 
tell  of  that  strange  mental  freak  which  leads  the 
natives  to  change  their  style  of  dress  with  each 
new  year,  so  that  photographs  showing  the  cos- 
tumes of  the  ten  last  seasons  would  make  one  be- 
lieve that  ten  different  tribes  were  on  exhibition. 
High  pompadours,  elaborate  and  intricate  coiffures. 


108  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

severe  tight  simplicity,  and  boyish  bobbed  locks — 
these  are  the  changing  head-dress  styles ;  small  hats, 
large  hats,  and  no  hats  at  all;  long  trailing  skirts 
that  sweep  the  ground,  short  skirts  that  give  free- 
dom and  grace — these  follow  one  another  through 
the  ceaseless  succession  of  dress-habits  which  might 
lead  you  to  believe  that  21  lacked  stability  of  judg- 
ment. I  might  tell  you  of  their  language,  which 
uses  the  same  vowels  and  consonants  in  the  same 
combinations  as  ours,  but  which  results  in  wholly 
different  meanings,  so  that  between  the  natives  of 
21  and  ourselves  there  exists  a  language-gap  as  wide 
and  as  serious  as  that  between  China  and  America. 
But  I  hasten  without  apology  to  a  consideration  of 
the  theme  which  has  occupied  my  attention  since  I 
have  returned  from  my  sojourn  in  21 — the  religion 
of  21.  For  you  are  Christians,  somewhat  dis- 
couraged at  the  indifference  which  these  blase  na- 
tives are  showing  toward  your  sincere  missionary 
efforts.  And  you  want  to  understand  the  difficulty. 
I  think  I  have  the  right  to  assume  this. 

There  has  been  in  the  past  a  rather  curious  ten- 
dency to  scorn  the  missionary  opportunity  which 
21  presented.  Job  is  a  striking  example  of  this  atti- 
tude. The  text  which  you  have  already  noticed  is 
plucked  from  Job's  memories  of  his  former  bliss. 
Out  of  his  present  misery,  he  is  looking  back  upon 
the  good  old  days  of  his  prosperity.  And  the  cli- 
max of  his  glowing  description  occurs  when  he 
comments  on  his  faith  and  his  piety.  He  recalls 
with  deep  gratitude  that  when  he  was  at  his  best 
religiously,  he  had  only  to  walk  down  the  street  and 


RELIGION  AT  TWENTY-ONE  109 

the  young  men  gathered  at  the  street-corners  would 
flee  at  his  commg.  This  was  an  approach  to  a  lively 
religious  ideal.  Job  was  positively  proud  that  his 
piety  sent  youth  off  in  howling  dismay. 

There  may  be  Christians  who  feel  that  way  about 
it  now.  21  is  so  noisy,  so  boisterous,  so  careless 
of  incense-odor  and  the  solemn  quiet  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. Maybe  you  would  prefer  to  have  young 
people  flee  before  you.  You  may  deem  their  dis- 
dain a  subtle  compliment  to  your  faith.  If  so,  21 
will  not  quarrel  with  you.  You  may  have  your 
own  way.  They  will  leave  you  and  never  bother 
you  again. 

But  if  you  really  care,  if  you  are  sorry  that  such 
a  magnificent  stratum  of  life  has  been  compara- 
tively untouched  by  the  program  of  the  church,  you 
may  be  willing  to  hear,  from  a  sympathetic  inter- 
preter, what  21  wants  in  religion. 

For  one  thing,  21  demands  enthusiasm.  The 
cool,  shadowy  faith  of  quiet  formairsm,  the  cal- 
culating contentment  of  the  church  which  counts  a 
year  well  spent  if  it  has  recorded  no  startling  losses 
in  membership,  the  sophisticated  aloofness  of  those 
who  are  happy  to  be  saved  and  have  no  sense  of 
the  tragedy  of  a  world's  misery  and  darkness — 
these  things  repel  21.  If  religion  means  anything, 
it  must  mean  a  consuming  dedication  to  an  insis- 
tent propaganda  of  faith,  and  where  the  consum- 
ing dedication  is  absent,  21  concludes  with  ruth- 
less logic  that  religion  does  not  mean  anything. 
Given  a  church  which  dares  to  dream  no  meaner 
dream  than  a  city  captured  by  the  forces  of  the 


110  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

Christ,  and  you  will  find  21  manifesting  signs  of 
eager  interest. 

The  new  generation  demands  fearlessness.  It 
has  been  taught  to  believe  that  if  a  theory  oF~an 
institution  shows  signs  of  shrinking  and  embarrass- 
ment when  faced  by  unbiased  and  cold  investigation 
and  comparison,  there  is  something  unworthy  which 
accounts  for  the  shrinking.  It  demands  a  religious 
faith  which  proscribes  no  books,  prohibits  no 
courses  of  study,  bans  no  contacts  with  the  ever- 
widening  horizons  of  the  world's  knowledge,  erects 
no  walls  about  itself,  but  frankly  and  fearlessly 
welcomes  every  fair  question.  It  instinctively  shuns 
the  religion  which  may  be  observed  only  under  a 
vacuum-bell  in  controlled  laboratory  conditions. 
21  wants  a  chance  to  test  and  try,  and  the  things 
which  are  not  willing  to  submit  are  simply  shelved. 

The  youngsters  demand  affirmatives.  There  is 
something  repellent  to  them  in  a  religious  faith 
which  boasts  as  its  supreme  attraction  a  carefully 
indexed  catalog  of  prohibitions.  They  are  not 
enormously  impressed  with  a  list  of  things  one  must 
not  do,  and  the  penalties  which  ensue  if  one  does. 
But  they  do  show  signs  of  eager  life  when  they  are 
confronted  with  an  ideal  of  what  one  can  do,  and 
some  friendly  counsel  as  to  how  one  can  be  helped 
in  the  doing. 

Indeed,  they  do  not  quite  understand  what  our 
negatives  mean.  We  were  noticing  a  few  moments 
ago  the  language  of  21,  and  the  difficulties  it  pre- 
sents to  foreigners.  Nowhere  is  this  language- 
gap  more  obvious  than  here  in  the  realm  of  affirma- 


RELIGION  AT  TWENTY-ONE  111 

tives  and  negatives.  I  have  a  daughter  who  is  just 
21 — twenty-one  months,  of  course.  And  already  she 
is  beginning  to  show  the  characteristics  of  the  tribe 
into  which  she  m^U  later  be  initiated.  We  adults 
realize  that  a  sharply  spoken  staccato  "  No,  no,  no, 
no,  no!  "  means:  ''  Darling,  it  would  be  better  for 
you  not  to  touch  that.  Daddy  and  mother  know 
that  it  will  hurt  you."  But  do  you  think  those  syl- 
lables of  warning  are  thus  interpreted  by  her  learn- 
ing mind  ?  You  are  mistaken  if  you  do.  When  she 
hears  a  ''No"  it  means  to  her:  "Hello,  here's 
something  extraordinarily  promising.  This  is  going 
to  be  more  interesting  than  usual.  They  always 
give  me  that  signal  when  I  start  into  anything 
which  looks  like  real  fun.  Then  they  always  try 
to  stop  me.  I  must  be  quick  and  dip  into  this  before 
they  start  after  me."  And  into  it  she  dips,  forth- 
with. 

You  may  be  tempted  to  list  her  as  an  example 
of  total  depravity.  But  I  tell  you  that  she  simply 
does  not  understand  our  language.  And  we  are 
fools,  unworthy  of  her  promise,  if  we  grow  impa- 
tient and  pettish,  and  do  not  seize  the  opportunity 
to  translate  our  futile  "  No  "  into  a  happy,  smiling 
"  Yes  "  which  points  in  a  more  promising  and  less 
perilous  direction,  for  her  interest. 

And  all  you  "  Nay-sayers  "  who  have  worn  out 
your  vocal  chords  and  your  nerves  prohibiting  21 
from  explorations  upon  which  they  immediately  en- 
tered with  joy  and  singing,  take  notice.  They  were 
not  trampling  on  you.  They  did  not  know  what 
your  "  No  "  meant.    And  the  pity  of  it  is  that  you 


112  "PREACH  IT  AGAIN" 

blamed  them  instead  of  buckling  down  to  the  ter- 
rific task  of  achieving  a  proper  and  meaningful 
translation  in  the  native  affirmative  vocabulary  of 
21.  Christians,  now  that  you  have  wrought  out 
after  years  of  toil  translations  of  the  Gospels  which 
make  Jesus  real  and  appealing  to  Chinese,  and 
Japanese,  and  Turks,  and  Czecho-Slavs,  and  two 
hundred  other  dialectic  groups,  more  or  less,  will 
you  try  to  make  an  interesting  and  tempting  trans- 
lation of  Jesus  into  the  native  tongue  of  21  ?  They 
will  listen,  if  you  will  talk  their  language,  even  if 
you  do  fumble  over  their  peculiar  idioms,  and  miss 
some  of  their  expressive  grammatical  constructions. 

Remember  that  they  are  utterly  indifferent  about 
promised  and  inflicted  punishments,  but  if  sins  ap- 
pear to  hinder  them  on  the  way  to  the  achievement 
of  fulness  of  life,  they  will  pause  a  bit,  and  go  back. 
The  nagging  '*  Don't  "of  outworn  pedagogy  is  not 
religion  to  them,  but  they  are  ready  for  a  glorious, 
forward-looking  "  Do." 

21  makes  its  last  demand  when  it  insists  that  re- 
ligion treat  of  life  as  well  as  death.  It  is  not  un- 
mindful of  the  transitory  nature  of  material  things; 
it  does  not  overlook  the  immortality  of  lives  well- 
lived  ;  it  has  not  lost  its  pity  for  those  oppressed  by 
loneliness  when  a  loved  one  has  departed.  But 
some  of  the  spectral  blue  light  of  mystery  and  un- 
canniness  which  once  played  about  the  fact  of  death 
has  been  removed  from  their  minds.  The  new 
generation  has  seen  too  many  of  its  contemporaries 
die,  and  that  at  the  glad  height  of  a  glorious  selfless 
adventure,  to  feel  the  need  of  a  religion  which  is 


RELIGION  AT  TWENTY-ONE  113 

satisfied  with  relieving  the  pall  of  death.  It  has 
little  patience  with  those  who  are  so  intent  upon 
the  melodies  of  glorified  Zion  that  they  have  no 
ears  for  the  pity  of  the  slums.  It  demands  a  faith 
which  is  willing  to  be  judged  on  the  way  it  pre- 
pares men  for  the  life  of  tomorrow,  as  well  as  for 
the  death  of  the  day  after. 

You  are  drawing  back  now  in  your  cool  reserve, 
and  you  are  saying  quite  icily :  **  We  cannot  change 
the  truth  to  suit  anybody.  We  must  preach  and 
teach  and  live  what  we  believe  without  compromise. 
And  if  21  does  not  like  it,  we  are  not  at  fault.  21 
may  want  what  it  calls  enthusiasm  and  fearless- 
ness and  affirmatives  and  life.  But  we  can  give 
them  only  the  good  old  gospel  of  Jesus,  and  leave 
the  issues  to  God." 

Then  21  is  proud  of  you.  The  youngsters  would 
be  ashamed  of  you  if  you  offered  to  compromise 
your  faith  for  anybody.  But  they  go  on  seeking, 
still,  a  religious  faith  which  they  in  turn  can  avow 
without  compromise  or  reservation.  And  they  are 
finding  that  they  have  not  far  to  go  in  their  search. 
They  are  reaching  their  goal  in  the  faith  of  that 
same  Jesus  who  is  dear  to  you. 

Enthusiasm?  His  passion  consumed  him! 
Fearlessness?  He  dodged  no  question,  erected  no 
tabu,  was  disappointed  only  when  a  question  re- 
mained unasked  in  a  seeker's  mind  through  embar- 
rassment! Affirmatives?  He  cut  across  a  whole 
complicated  code  of  terrifying  prohibitions  with 
specific  penalties  attached,  and  uttered  his  com- 
mandments in  two  glorious  af^rmatives  of  love. 


114  "PREACH  IT  AGAIN" 

Life?  Always  he  preached  to  the  problems  of  liv- 
ing, and  his  dying  prayer  was  a  sentence  of  satis- 
faction at  the  completion  of  the  task  of  life  which 
had  filled  his  mind  and  soul,  and  at  the  confidence 
which  such  life  gave  him  for  the  rest. 

Have  we  forgotten  that  he  died,  a  young  man 
surrounded  by  young  men?  Have  we  forgotten 
that  his  language  is  enlivened  at  every  point  by 
the  vivid  words  and  idioms  of  21?  Have  we  so 
libelled  him  in  our  preaching  and  our  institutions 
and  our  piety  that  the  searching,  eager  natives  of  21 
have  consigned  him  to  the  far  distant  limbo  of 
"  after  40  "  ? 

Forgive  us,  21.  He  is  yours.  Claim  him,  serve 
him,  love  him,  live  for  him!  Prove  to  us  once 
again  the  eternal  youth  of  the  Christ! 


X 

HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  SUN  STAND  STILL 

Text:  And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon 
stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged  themselves 
upon  their  enemies. — Joshua  10  :  13. 

There  was  no  day  quite  like  it,  before  it,  or 
after  it. 

Word  had  come  to  Joshua  that  the  kings  had 
come  down  out  of  their  mountain  fastnesses,  and 
were  threatening  to  take  Gibeon.  The  messengers 
from  the  besieged  city  were  breathless  in  their  haste 
and  their  fear :  "  Slack  not  thy  hand.  Come  up 
to  us  quickly,  and  save  us,  and  help  us!"  The 
words  stumble  over  one  another  in  their  haste. 
And  Joshua  slacks  not.  Without  a  moment's  delay, 
he  summons  his  army  into  battle  array.  He  tells 
them  the  urgent  necessity  of  haste.  It  is  late  after- 
noon, but  he  is  unwilling  to  wait  until  morning  to 
start.  He  knows  that  one  more  day  will  mean  cap- 
ture of  the  precious  town.  Into  the  shadows  of 
the  evening  he  marches  his  mighty  men  of  valor, 
and  all  through  the  hours  of  the  night  they  hurry 
over  hill  and  vale  from  Gilgal  to  Gibeon,  tireless  in 
their  eagerness  for  the  fray. 

Morning  comes.     The  kings  of  the  Amorites, 
who  have  come  down  from  the  hills,  make  ready 

115 


116  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

for  their  easy  advance.  The  city  which  is  their 
prey,  lies  before  them  in  the  dawn-light  like  a  rich 
jewel  ready  to  be  claimed  for  their  glory.  But  there 
is  dust  in  a  great  cloud  along  the  Gilgal  road.  There 
is  the  low  thunder  of  human  voices.  There  are 
shouts  of  recognition  and  glad  acclaim  from  the 
valley.  The  little  city  is  alive  with  eager  prepara- 
tion. Joshua  and  his  hosts  have  come !  There  will 
be  a  fight  for  the  prize. 

The  travel-stained  army  from  Gilgal  takes  no 
time  for  rest.  They  brush  the  darkness  away  from 
their  eyes,  take  one  look  at  the  besieging  hosts,  and 
hurl  themselves  with  shouts  of  confidence  into  the 
fray.  Tired  beyond  their  realization,  they  are  new 
men  in  the  fierce  agony  of  battle. 

But  the  foes  are  no  untrained  boys.  These 
Amorites  have  much  stuff  in  them.  The  lines  sway 
backward  and  forward  as  the  day  toils  on.  The 
city  is  captured  and  saved,  and  captured  and  saved 
again,  as  the  tides  of  battle  change.  The  sun  is 
dropping  low  toward  the  west.  Joshua  knows  that 
they  must  win  now  or  not  at  all.  And  the  moments 
are  fleeting  by  like  scared  things.  An  hour  more, 
and  it  will  be  too  late.  These  tired  bodies  and  ex- 
hausted minds  would  be  utterly  at  a  loss  tomorrow. 
He  fights  on  with  his  men,  but  as  he  fights,  he  prays : 
''  A  little  more  time.  Lord.  Keep  the  sun  high  until 
we  win." 

And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  delayed  in 
her  coming.  Is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of 
Jasher  ? 

Of  course,  the  great  difficulty  about  the  story  is 


HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  SUN  STAND  STILL     117 

the  undoubted  fact  that  in  a  universe  of  thronging 
planets  and  intricate  time-calculations,  the  pausing 
of  the  sun  and  the  moon  while  Joshua  fought  his 
battle  is  not  as  simple  a  thing  as  it  at  first  appears. 
Secondly,  it  is  now  obvious  that  as  far  as  the  earth 
is  concerned  the  sun  is  always  standing  compara- 
tively still,  and  the  day  could  be  prolonged  not  at  all 
by  an  obliging  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  sun. 
The  earth  would  find  it  necessary  to  cease  in  its  reg- 
ular rotation  upon  its  axis  in  order  to  make  daylight 
accessible  beyond  the  usual  period.  And  thirdly, 
exact  measurement  of  the  length  of  the  day  was 
quite  impossible.  Watch  companies  have  recently 
engaged  in  an  advertising  campaign  to  stimulate  in- 
terest in  the  history  of  time-keeping  devices.  They 
have  revealed  to  us  how  startlingly  recent  are  accu- 
rate time-measurements,  and  how  crude  were  the 
best  devices  of  ancient  man.  Ropes  which  burned 
with  fair  regularity,  hour-glasses  with  sand  in  them, 
sun-dial  arrangements,  these  were  the  finest  flower 
of  yesterday's  inventive  genius.  And  even  these 
were  denied  to  Joshua,  for  he  was  not  the  kind  of 
a  warrior  to  take  up  a  position  off  at  one  side  of  the 
conflict  and  there  carefully  study  the  progress  of 
the  afternoon  on  a  dial.  He  was  in  the  thick  of  the 
fight.  How  was  he  measuring  time?  How  could 
he  know  that  the  sun  stood  still  ?  How  was  he  re- 
cording the  altogether  unusual  events  of  the  unusual 
day? 

He  was  using  the  most  accurate  measure  of  time 
which  has  ever  been  devised :  deeds.  He  was 
measuring  hours  by  accomplishments.     And  when 


118  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

the  sun  drooped  low  over  the  western  hills,  and 
evening  was  almost  upon  him,  he  did  pray  that  the 
sun  might  stand  still,  so  that  he  might  fight  through 
to  victory.  Then  he  flung  himself  from  his  prayer 
into  the  heat  of  the  battle,  and  his  mighty  enthu- 
siasm so  communicated  itself  to  his  men  that  they 
made  those  few  moments  of  dusk  count  for  more 
than  had  the  whole  day  before,  and  the  kings  of 
the  Amorites  turned  and  fled,  and  the  city  was 
saved.  And  as  the  hosts  of  Joshua  gathered  round 
the  camp-fire  with  their  leader  that  night,  and  he 
told  them  of  his  prayer,  they  said  to  one  another: 
"  The  prayer  was  answered.  The  sun  did  stand 
still.  That  last  hour  seemed  like  a  whole  day. 
What  do  we  care  about  the  futile  denials  of  orderly 
solar  systems  and  artificial  time-scales.  Hours  are 
long  or  short  as  you  fill  them  full  or  leave  them 
bare  of  accomplishment.  Surely  the  Lord  fought 
for  Gibeon.    There  was  never  day  quite  like  this." 

Time  is  never  fairly  measured  by  the  numbers  of 
times  a  hand  traverses  the  face  of  a  clock.  Time 
has  length  and  breadth  and  depth,  and  the  man  who 
measures  only  length  is  absolutely  deceived.  Which 
was  the  older  ?  Roosevelt,  or  that  old  woman  who 
died  at  104,  after  quiet  backwoods  existence? 
Which  had  lived  the  most  of  life?  I  have  seen  a 
football  team  make  the  last  few  minutes  of  the  last 
quarter  into  a  longer  period  than  would  encompass 
all  the  play  before. 

And  I  have  made  the  sun  stand  still.  Have  you 
never  felt  the  exhilaration  of  the  experience?  To 
face  an  almost  impossible  task,  to  know  the  merci- 


HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  SUN  STAND  STILL     119 

less  onrush  of  the  end  of  the  day,  to  lift  your  heart 
in  prayer  for  a  few  more  minutes  of  daylight,  and 
then  to  swing  so  much  of  life  into  those  few  mo- 
ments that  they  become  hours  under  the  touch  of 
your  dauntless  willingness,  this  entitles  you  to  a 
place  with  Joshua. 


APPENDIX 


\. 


THE  SERMONS  OF  THE  SECOND  YEAR 


A  similar  experiment,  carried  on  at  the  end  of  the 
second  year's  preaching,  involved  the  use  of  the  fol- 
lowing list.  First  place  was  awarded  to  Sermon  70, 
''  An  Adventure  in  Friendliness,"  a  verse  by  verse 
exposition  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corin- 
thians, using  a  rough  and  immediate  verbal  trans- 
lation from  the  Greek  text ;  second  place  went  to 
Sermon  76,  *'  The  Good  Fortune  of  Bad  Luck,"  a 
discussion  of  the  uses  of  adversity  in  human  life; 
while  third  place  was  given  to  Sermon  5,  "  On  Dis- 
tance in  Religion,"  which  was  the  favorite  of  the 
first  year,  and  was  included  in  the  second-year  list 
only  because  the  vote  of  the  congregation  had 
forced  its  repetition.  Three  sermons  were  repeated 
as  a  result  of  the  second  ballots. 

1.  Henceforth.    Text:  Ephesians  4  :  14. 

"  The  Christian's  eyes  are  fixed  upon  the  dawn  of  a  to- 
morrow." 

2.  1922  Will  Reward  Fighters.    Text :  Romans  5  :  3. 

"  No  follower  of  Jesus  can  pray  a  craven  prayer  for  a  soft 
year." 

3.  The  Folly  of  Vain  Regrets.    Text :  Psalm  103 :  12. 

"  The  only  proper  fruit  of  failure  is  not  regret,  but  wisdom 
for  the  next  attempt." 

4.  Do  You  Listen  for  Angels?    Text:  Acts  8  :  29. 

"  There  are  angels  speaking  today  to  us,  as  plainly  as  they 
spoke  to  Philip  in  the  far-off  vesterday." 

123 


124  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 


5.  On  Distance  in  Religion.    Text :  John  4  :  4-26. 

"  Three  Negro  songs  can  teach  us  the  secret  of  nearness  to 
God."     (Repeated  by  request  from  last  year's  preaching.) 

6.  Trade-Eyes.     Text :  1  John  4  :  21. 

"We  see  each  other  through  the  eyes  of  our  trade.     And 
the  Christian  has  trade-eyes  of  his  own." 

7.  How  TO  Make  a  Pearl.     Text :  2  Corinthians  12  :  7-10. 
*'A  pearl  is  the  garment  of  patience  wrapped  around  an 

annoyance."     (Repeated  by  request  from  last  year's  preach- 
ing.) 

8.  Palm  Sunday  Christians.    Text:  Matthew  21  :  8-11. 

"  A  few  hours  separate  the  '  Hosannas '  of  Palm  Sunday 
from  the  angry  shouts  of  '  Crucify  Him  ! '  " 

9.  The  Easter  Triumph.    Text :  1  Corinthians  15  :  55-57. 

"  The  resurrection  is  proven  or  disproven  by  the  quality  of 
the  disciple's  life." 

10.  If  Time  Were  Money.    Text :  Colossians  4  :  5. 

"  Time  is  money— the  most  precious  currency  in  life." 

11.  The  We-ness  of  Us.    T^xt:  1  Corinthians  12  :  12. 

He's  not  heavy,  sir !    He's  my  brother! ' "     (Repeated  by 
request  from  last  year's  preaching.) 

12.  Brother  Saul.    Text:  Acts  22  :  13. 

"This  was  a  splendid  gesture  of  love  which  saw  in  that 
broken  enemy  of  the  cross  a  potential  brother." 

13.  Take  Your  Choice.    Text:  Romans  7  :  15. 

"*I  have  to  live  with  myself,  and  so  I  want  to  be  fit  for 
myself  to  know.'"  (Repeated  by  request  from  last  year's 
preaching.) 

14.  The  Other  SroE  of  the  Road.    Text:  Luke  10  :  31-33. 

"  The  magnetism  of  need  versus  the  magnetism  of  com- 
fort." : 

15.  Says  I,  to  Myself.    Text :  Psalm  19 :  12. 

"What  kind  of  a  man  are  you  when  you  talk  to  yourself?" 
(Repeated  by  request  from  last  year's  preaching.) 


APPENDIX  125 


16.  If  Luther  Lived  Today.    Text:  Romans  1  :  17. 

"  There  are  new  battles  for  liberty  of  soul  which  require 
the  spirit  of  Luther." 

17.  The  Baptist  Church  On  Main  Street.    Text:  Revela- 
tion 3  :  8. 

'"Against  heart-breaking  odds,  the  preachers  on  Main  Street 
battle  for  the  truth.    Help  them  !  " 

18.  The  Hand  That   Rocks  the  Cradle.    Text:   Proverbs 
31  :  30. 

"  Motherhood  holds  the  destiny  of  America  in  its  hands." 

19.  A  Fool  and  His  Money.    Text:  Proverbs  21  :  20. 
"  A  fool  is  at  the  mercy  of  his  money — or  lack  of  it." 

20.  A  Fathers'  Day  Sermon.    Text:  Proverbs  23:  15-23. 

"  There  is  need  for  sound  advice  on  the  problem  of  choosing 
a  father." 

21.  Christ  and  Healing.    Text :  2  Corinthians  12  :  7-10. 

"  Jesus   healed — but  he   seemed   to   fear  the  results  of  his 
helpfulness  on  the  issues  of  his  Kingdom." 

22.  The  Cold,  Cold  World.    Text:  Hebrews  13  :  8. 

"  The  Senior  who  leaves  college  finds  the  world  no  colder 
than  the  school." 

23.  America  Does  Not  Forget. 

"Memorial  Day  is  a  perpetual  pledge  of  the  faithful  re- 
membrance of  America." 

24.  At  the  Heart  of  Things.    Text:  Acts  9  :  4. 

"  Have  mercy  on  things.     There  are  souls  hidden  beneath 
the  surface." 

25.  The  Power  of  Kindness.    Text:  Proverbs  15:  1. 

"  There  is  no  more  mighty  force  in  the  universe  than  the 
simple  quality  of  kindness." 

26.  The   Crime   of   Competitf^e   Armament.    Text :    Isaiah 
2  :  1-5. 

"War   is   the   fiendish   extension   of   claws   and   hoofs   and 
teeth  and  fangs." 


126  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

27.  Children's  Day. 

" '  The  other  side  of  every  cloud  the  sun  is  shining.' " 

28.  Can  Christianity  Fail?    Text:  Galatians  2  :  5. 

"  The  solemn  responsibility  for  the  whole  battle-line  must 
rest  on  the  heart  of  every  Christian." 

29.  Why  I  Am  Proud  of  Syracuse.    Text:  Revelation  21. 

"  Her  achievements  are  many  and  great ;  but  I  love  her  for 
her  promise." 

30.  Under  Two  Flags.    Text :  Psalm  20  :  5. 

"There  is  only  one  banner  for  the  church;  any  other  alle- 
giance is  treachery." 

31.  The  Joy  of  Thy  Lord.    Text :  Matthew  25  :  21. 

"  Work — more  work — still  more  work — these  are  the  suc- 
cessive rewards  from  Christ." 

32.  If.    Text :   Luke   7  :  36-50. 

"  He  does  know  our  shortcomings — and  yet  he  loves." 

Z'h.  The  Legend  of  the  Lake. 

"  A  sanctuary  where  all  feuds  and  rivalries  are  forgotten, 
and  all  beauties  are  shared  in  friendship." 

34.  Perils  on  the  Heights. 

"  Men  cannot  climb   very  high   without   endangering  their 
humihty  and  their  friendliness." 

35.  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Americans.    Text:  Acts  19  :  34. 

"What  is  the  goddess  whose  silver  statues  make  our  busi- 
ness? " 

36.  Labor  vs.  Capital.    Where  Stands  the  Church  ?    Text : 
Colossians  3  :  11. 

"  Too  long  has  the  church  balanced  itself  carefully  between 
two  extremes." 

37.  Lord,  Is  It  I?    Text:  Joshua  7. 

"Am  I  hindering  the  coming  of  victory?" 

38.  Too  Much  Speed.    Text :  Mark  4  :  28,  29. 

"  No  generation  in  history  has  lived  at  a  faster  pace." 


APPENDIX  127 


39.  Three  Baptist  Men  at  the  Heart  of  the  World.    Text : 
Daniel  3. 

"May  there  be  the  figure  of  the  Son  of  Man  visible  in  the 
flames." 

40.  The  Blunder  of  Bluff.    Text :  Matthew  23  :  27. 

"  Alice  Adams,  the  most  pathetic  figure  of  modern  fiction, 
is  a  victim  of  the  allurements  of  blufit." 

41.  Light  Invincible.    Text:  John  1  :  5. 

*'  Darkness  cannot  batter  it  down.    We  see  a  star  through 
billions  of  miles  of  darkness." 

\42..i  Lessons  from  My  Ford.    Text :  Proverbs  16  :  32. 

Watch  your  gas,  watch  your  radiator,  watch  your  oil." 

43.  Doorkeepers  of  the  Lord.    Text :  Psalm  84  :  10. 

"  This  church  is  built  upon  the  hidden  service  of  humble 
doorkeepers." 

44.  One  Wasted  Year.    Text:  1  Samuel  13  :  1. 

"A  year  of  idleness  spreads  its  failure  over  all  of  life." 

45.  A  Twentieth  Century  Parable.    Text:  Mark  13  :  34. 
"Would  Jesus  tell  us  stories  of  ourselves?" 

46.  Beams  and  Motes.    Text :  Matthew  7  :  4. 

"  How   easy  it  is   to   prescribe   for  our  neighbor's   faults ! 
How  difficult  to  look  steadily  in  a  moral  mirror !  " 

47.  Money.    Text:  1  Timothy  6:  10. 

"  Money  is  the  miracle  of  modern  communication." 

48.  Colgate  to  Syracuse.    Text :  Proverbs  3  :  13. 

'■'  The  defeats  of  yesterday  will  not  hurt  us  tomorrow." 

49.  The  Acid  Test  of  Discipleship.    Text:  Mark  10  :  22. 
"  A  drop  of  acid  tells  the  story — gold  or  base  metal." 

50.  The  Best  Story  in  the  World. 

"The  wistful  tale  of  the  boy  who  ran  away  and  the  father 
who  waited." 


128  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

51.  The  Zero  Hour.    Text:  Exodus  14  :  15. 

"  Our  first  real  battle  since  the  new  captain  came." 

52.  Shall  the  Church  Charge  Admission  ?    Text :  2  Thes- 
salonians  3:1. 

"  Not  if  one  seeking  soul  would  be  shut  out." 

53.  How  TO  Change  the  World.    Text :  Isaiah  28  :  9,  10. 

"  Patience — line    upon    line — precept    upon    precept — cour- 
age !  " 

54.  The  Big  Game.    Text:  Hebrews  12  :  1. 

"  Football  is  a  tiny  atom  when  compared  with  the  game 
of  life." 

55.  The  United  States  Then  Being  in  a  State  of  War. 
Text:  2  Timothy  2  :  13. 

"  Every  color  is  heightened  by  the  presence  of  war." 

56.  A  Portrait  of  a  Good  Sport.    Text :  2  Timothy  4 :  7. 
"A  modern  ideal  with  inspiration  in  it." 

57.  How  NOT  to  be  Thankful.    Text:  Luke  18  :  11. 

"  Do  not  demand  a  background  of  misery   for  your  own 
joy." 

58.  The  Strategy  of  Foch.    Text:  Proverbs  16  :  32. 
"  Remember  the  Marne  and  Ferdinand  Foch." 

59.  Excommunication.    Text:  1  Corinthians  11  :  28, 

"  '  He  drew  a  circle  and  shut  me  out. 
Heretic,  scorner,  a  thing  to  flout.' " 

60.  How  Much  of  Christmas  Is  Christian?    Text:  Mat- 
thew 7  :  23. 

*'  Ask  the  tired  clerks,  the  overworked  postmen,  the  selfish 
children,  the  extravagant  parents." 

61.  Has  He  Really  Come?    Text:  Matthew  2  :  2. 
"Has    He   been   born   in   you?" 

62.  Christ,  Our  Passover.    Text :  1  Corinthians  5  :  7,  8. 
"  The  memorial  of  our  deliverance." 


APPENDIX  129 


63.  B.  C.  AND  A.  D.    The  Message  of  the  Calendar.    Text: 
Galatians  4  :  10. 

"  What  is  this  figure  at  whose  life  the  world's  dates  con- 
verge ?  " 

64.  Denominational  Disarmament.    Text :  John  17  :  20-26. 
"  The    frightful    cost    of    foolish    precautions    against    our 

Christian  brethren." 

(kk  How  Insane  Are  You?     1.  The  Calamity  of  Conflict. 
Text:  Romans  7  :  18,  19. 
"  The  hypocrite  has  started  on  the  road  to  madness." 

66.  The  Poor  Little  Rich  Girl.    Text:  Matthew  17:  1-10. 
"Shall  religion  be  pampered  by  its  misguided  friends?" 

67.  How  Insane  Are  You?    2.  The  Refuge  of  Repression. 
Text :  Romans  8  :  10. 

"  Not  less  life,  but  more  life  in  a  better  direction." 

68.  The  Church  Speaks  to  the  New  Chancellor.    Text : 
2  Chronicles  32 :  7. 

"  Live  your  faith  among  us.     Show  forth  Christ." 

69.  How  Insane  Are  You?    3.  The  Peril  of   Projection. 
Text :  Romans  8  :  22,  23. 

"  Most  of   our  criticism  of  others  is  a   reflection  on  our- 
selves." 

70.  An  Adventure  in  Friendliness.    Text :  1  Corinthians  13. 
"Faith,  hope,  and  friendliness,  which  is  greatest?" 

71.  How   Insane  Are   You?    4.  The  Folly  of   Phantasy. 
Text :  Romans  8  :  24-28. 

"  The  day-dreamer  and  the   sermon-taster  are  both  show- 
ing symptoms  of  insanity." 

72.  Pity  and  the  Pope.    Text :  Matthew  16  :  18. 

"  Encased   in   heavy   robes   and  tedious  traditions,  he   is  a 
symbol  of  bewildered  tiredness." 

73.  The  Eminent  Sanity  of  Jesus.    Text:  John  10  :  20. 
"  Poise — the  kingly  steadiness  of  the  Christ." 


130  "  PREACH  IT  AGAIN  " 

74.  The  Soul  of  Lincoln.    Text:  Matthew  12  :  28-34. 
"Would  Lincoln  join  this  church?" 

IS,  What  It  Means  to  Be  a  Christian.    Text:  Philippians 
3  :  14. 

"  To  follow  the  way  of  Jesus — and  to  wish  to  share  that 
way  with  others." 

76.  The  Good  Fortune  of  Hard  Luck.    Text:  Proverbs  3  : 
11,  12. 

"  There  is  no  strength  without  discipline." 

n.  What  It  Means  to  Be  a  Baptist.    Text :  Psalm  122. 

'*  First  one  must  be  a  Christian.    And  then  one  must  love 
the  Baptist  ideals." 


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